The December 10th issue of The Economist said, “The emerging Trump strategy towards business has some promising elements, but others that are deeply troubling.” I agree. In his campaign, Mr. Trump slammed Wall Street and Goldman Sachs, however his actions seem to bely his previous position. From the early days of his campaign, one of Donald Trump’s… [Read More]
Senator Warren Calls Out the DOJ – They Ignored 11 Congressional Commission Criminal Referrals!
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Member of the Senate Banking Committee and Ranking Minority Member of the Sub-Committee on Economic Policy, wrote two highly provocative letters this last week requesting a formal investigation into why President Obama’s administration has not brought criminal charges against the individuals and corporations involved in the 2007-2008 financial crisis. According to Bloomberg, Senator… [Read More]
The Elephant in the Room – Why no TBTF Prosecutions?
The elephant in the room is still why there have been no criminal prosecutions of the banks, executives and Wall Street traders who were primarily responsible for the 2008 financial crisis. There has been no obvious answer, although our Department of Justice continues to dance around the question. In his most recent article, my friend… [Read More]
Chicken Little was right – “the sky IS falling”!
Remember Chicken Little and her warning, the sky is falling? I sometimes feel like a Chicken Little, with my repeated warnings that the sky is indeed falling and here’s another example. Just last week I posted about my fellow Bank Whistlebowers United colleague Michael Winston’s interview with Gretchen Morgenson on the New York Times Facebook venue. I’m still… [Read More]
“Take On Wall Street” – a Bold Agenda to Control the Large Banks!
A new group, Take On Wall Street, has emerged which vows it won’t rest until it breaks up the big banks and stops the stranglehold Wall Street has on Congress and the American taxpayer! Take On Wall Street may have enough backing behind it do so. Twenty national organizations joined Senator Elizabeth Warren (D- Mass)… [Read More]
Silence is Deadly. Lessons Learned.
The audience was primarily internal auditors at my presentation this week at the 11th Annual Fraud Summit, held at the University of Texas at Dallas, where I teach, sponsored by the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, and Information Systems Audit and Control Association. I talked about fraud and how as… [Read More]
It’s Time to Wake Up, America!
Last week the New York Times published the article “Wall St. Whistle-Blowers, Often Scorned, Get New Support” by William Cohan about Bank Whistleblowers United. This is gratifying and exciting news, as it focuses more attention and brings more eyes to the goals our new group is committed to. As I explained in a recent article, four former whistleblowers, including myself,… [Read More]
Campaign Contributions and Politicians’ “Promises”
This post is not about conspiracy theory nor is it a political statement. Just an ironic commentary on the influence peddling that goes on between politicians and big companies, which unfortunately hurts the economy, the taxpayer and small business. Recently my colleagues, Gary Aguirre, William Black, Michael Winston and I formed a probono group and policy… [Read More]
Goldman Sachs aka The Great Vampire Squid Rides Again!
As my friend William D. Cohan said in a recent New York Times post, “nearly eight years after the onset of the financial crisis; its unintended consequences continue to startle and amaze.” The latest in a long saga of TBTF bank settlements, Goldman Sachs, one of the more recent banks to resolve settlements charges for the… [Read More]
Really? A Badly Behaved Banker’s List?
There’s talk of a master list being created that would list Wall Street bankers who’ve run into ethical issues on the job. It could develop into a pretty long list. And then what next? Which other group would be targeted? Supposedly the purpose of this list would be to help companies avoid hiring the repeat… [Read More]
