Well this morning we got two hefty fines handed out $7.2 billion for Deutsche Bank and $5.28 billion for Credit Suisse, Barclays bank has decided to go to court rather than cough up in an out of court settlement. These fines relate to their selling of mortgage backed securities and collateralized debt obligations in the run up to the financial crisis in 2007. Let us be very clear these fines are not inappropriate, they are necessary to make banks understand that dodgy practices are not acceptable in the modern world of business and to encourage better future behaviour. Doctors, dentists, lawyer, accountants and other professions are expected to uphold high standards of professional practice and so should be the case in banking. The way they got involved selling dodgy securities followed by the the libor and forex rigging scandals shows that there is something very rotten going on in the world of banking.
The main problem is that the main people that suffer from such settlements are the bank shareholders who are generally innocent of wrongdoing. The real people that have suffered from the financial crisis have been ordinary citizens that have had to pay for the bailouts in the way of higher taxes, less government services and a horrendous economic crisis that resulted in a rise in unemployment particularly among the young unemployed. Pay at the top of the banking sector is still way too high, many at the top got to keep their ill-gotten bonuses and no one at the top has done some jail time. Justice has been partially but not fully served.
The main problem is that the main people that suffer from such settlements are the bank shareholders who are generally innocent of wrongdoing. The real people that have suffered from the financial crisis have been ordinary citizens that have had to pay for the bailouts in the way of higher taxes, less government services and a horrendous economic crisis that resulted in a rise in unemployment particularly among the young unemployed. Pay at the top of the banking sector is still way too high, many at the top got to keep their ill-gotten bonuses and no one at the top has done some jail time. Justice has been partially but not fully served.
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