Citi’s $7Bln Settlement: Truth and Justice Delayed Is Truth and Justice Denied
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 14th, 2014 11:40 AM |
Running down the clock used to be a strategy employed by renowned North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith to win many a game. College basketball ultimately employed a shot clock to keep the games going.
Perhaps the Department of Justice should also have some sort of effective ‘shot clock’ imposed upon it in certain circumstances. Why so?
Just look at the announcement today (July 14, 2014) that Citigroup is paying a $7 billion fine to settle an array of egregious practices involved in transactions the firm brought from 2003 to 2008. The WSJ offers that AG Eric Holder will provide the following details: (more…)
Tags: Citi $7 billion settlement, Citi settlement, Citi settlement with DOJ, Citigroup settlement, Corbat, Department of Justice, financial regulators, in bed with Wall Street, Richard Bowen, Robert Rubin, truth and justice delayed, truth and justice denied, who pays Citi settlement
Posted in Citigroup, fraud, General | 1 Comment »
Barclays Libor Scandal: Who’s Really to Blame?
Posted by Larry Doyle on July 10th, 2012 8:10 AM |
The London Interbank Overnight Rate, aka Libor, is the referenced benchmark rate for only some multiple hundreds of trillions of dollars worth of securities and contracts. As such, the rate is of enormous importance to the markets and global economy. I personally recall beginning almost every day as a trader on Wall Street by inquiring of an individual on the finance desk, “Where’s Libor?”
With the manipulation of this rate rocking the markets, everybody wants to know who’s to blame. There is certainly plenty of blame to go around.
If we were to listen to Bob Diamond, former CEO of Barclays, we would be inclined to believe that the blame in that organization rested merely within a very small group of individuals. How convenient. Do you think the CEOs of other banks would also like to ring fence this issue to a small group of expendable individuals on selected trading desks? No doubt. (more…)
Tags: Alan Greenspan, Arthur Levitt, Barclays Libor Scandal, Barclays Libor Scandal who is really to blame, Brooksley Born CFTC, Charles Ferguson Inside Job, Commodity Futures Modernization Act, Inside Job, lack of regulation of derivatives, lack of regulation of derivatives market, Larry Summers, Libor scandal, Phil Gramm, Robert Rubin, who is guilty of Libor scandal, who is to blame for Libor scandal
Posted in General, Libor | 3 Comments »
Finger Pointing and Payoffs
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 9th, 2010 9:12 AM |
Who in America is going to stand up and accept appropriate culpability for his/her contribution to our current economic crisis? Who in America is also willing to expose the incestuous nature of the Wall Street-Washington relationship which provided the cover for the activities which have debilitated our nation?
Let’s review what we have learned so far:
1. Blame has been directed at bank executives…but they got paid handsomely, and have not accepted full responsibility.
2. Blame has been directed at ratings agencies….but they also got paid handsomely to provide ratings, while not really knowing what they were doing. (more…)
Tags: Ben Bernanke, blame for crisis, Chris Dodd, culpability for crisis, Fannie Mae execs, FCIC, finger pointing, FINRA, Franklin Raines, Freddie Mac execs, Larry Summers, Leland Brendsel, mortgage originators, Phil Gramm, public service, public service and private wealth accumulation, ratings agencies, reasons for our economic crisis, regulators, Rham Emanuel, Robert Rubin, SEC, Tim Geithner, Wall Street executives, Wall Street-Washington incest, Washington, what is to blame for our economic crisis, who is to blame for our economic crisis
Posted in General, Wall Street, Washington D.C. | 5 Comments »
Robert Rubin, Raise Your Right Hand . . .
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 8th, 2010 9:15 AM |

Robert Rubin
Perhaps no one single individual is more representative of the Wall Street-Washington incestuous relationship than Robert Rubin.
Today, Mr. Rubin will provide testimony to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission which is charged with investigating the root causes of the economic crisis which emanated on Wall Street. Will the FCIC allow Mr. Rubin to hide behind the veil of platitudes, unnamed consultants, unknown risks, and the like? Will the FCIC finally stand up for American citizens and drill Mr. Rubin to expose the deeply embedded, culturally corrosive nature of the incestuous relationship between Wall Street and Washington? (more…)
Tags: CFTC, FCIC, over the counter derivatives oversight, Phil Angelides chariman FCIC, Robert Rubin, Robert Rubin AIG, Robert Rubin Barack Obama relationship, Robert Rubin Brooksley Born relationship, Robert Rubin career, Robert Rubin career at Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin compensation at Citigroup, Robert Rubin FCIC questioning April 8 2010, Robert Rubin FINRA, Robert Rubin MAry Schapiro relationship, Robert Rubin relationship with Franklin Raines, Robert Rubin relationship with Freddie and Fannie, Robert Rubin relationship with James Johnson, Robert Rubin relationship with Leland Brendsel, Robert Rubin relationship with Sandy Weill, Robert Rubin Richard Bowen, Robert Rubin role at Citigroup, Robert Rubin role in repeal of Glass Stegall
Posted in FCIC, Financial crisis inquiry commission, General, Robert Rubin | 4 Comments »
Citi’s Richard Bowen Exposes Wall Street’s ‘Garbage In, Garbage Out’
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 7th, 2010 3:41 PM |
Does anybody have any doubt that massive fraud within our mortgage industry played a large part in our current economic crisis? America continues to suffer from the fakers and phonies within our financial regulatory structure (including Alan Greenspan) who fail to accept responsibility for their shortcomings and the resultant frauds.
The mortgage fraud grew over time in order to feed the Wall Street machine the collateral it needed to execute a wide array of structured transactions. This need for increasing volume of mortgage originations was a critical point in one of my earliest blog posts written in November 2008, “The Wall Street Model is Broken… and Won’t Soon be Fixed!!” I wrote: (more…)
Tags: Alan Greenspan, Citigroup, Citigroup consumer lending, Citigroup Underwriter Warned of Mortgage Lapses, David Bushnell, Fannie Mae, FCIC, Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission April 7 2010, financial frauds, financial regulators, Freddie Mac, Gary Crittenden, Mortgage Crisis, mortgage fraud, mortgage originations, Mortgages, originate to distribute, private profit social loss, Richard Bowen, Richard Bowen testimony April 7 2010, Robert Rubin
Posted in Citigroup, General, Mortgage Crisis | 5 Comments »
Sense on Cents 2009 Halls of Fame and Shame
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 4th, 2010 9:47 AM |
For those who missed last evening’s No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle Hall of Fame and Shame Induction, I am compelled to provide a recap and listing of all those honored or dishonored — depending on one’s perspective. What was the measuring stick to make these assessments? Very simply, the pursuit and promotion of truth, transparency and integrity as we navigate the economic landscape.
Some names you will immediately recognize, others you may not. Additional information about these individuals can be found via the search window (located above the right sidebar) at Sense on Cents. The names appear in no specific order of priority or importance. With no further adieu . . .
Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Shame Inductees
1. Bernie Madoff
2. Nicholas Cosmo: ran financial scam at Agape World
3. Tim Geithner: tax cheat amongst other things
4. Larry Summers: arrogant, condescending, and sleep deprived
5. Auction-Rate Securities dealers and managers, especially Oppenheimer Holdings, E-Trade, Schwab, Pimco, Van-Kampen, Blackrock
6. The Wall Street Journal
7. George Soros
8. Chris Dodd (D-CT): reasons too numerous to mention
9. The Board of FINRA
10. Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsel: former CEOs of Fannie and Freddie
11. Wall Street management, especially Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs
12. Frank Dipascali: a special place in hell for Madoff’s CFO
13. Rahm Emanuel
14. Jimmy Cayne: CEO of Bear Stearns
15. Dick Fuld: CEO of Lehman Bros.
16. Congress collectively
17. Barney Frank (D-MA): reasons too numerous to mention, but start with “I want to roll the dice…”
18. Bank Stress Tests: a total sham
19. Allen Stanford
20. Steven Rattner: car czar
21. Bruce Malkenhorst: receiving a 500k pension from Vernon, CA
22. Barack Obama: just another politician (more…)
Tags: Acorn, Allen Stanford, Andrew Madoff, Angelo Haligiannis Ponzi scheme, Arianna Huffington, auction rate securites dealers, Bank Stress Tests, Barack Obama, Barney Frank, Ben Nelson, Bernie Madoff, Board of FINRA, Bob Rodriguez of FPA, Bruce Malkenhorst, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Carmen Reinhart, cash for clunkers, Charles Bowsher, Charlie Doyle, Chris Cox, Chris Dodd, Chuck Schumer, Clifford S. Asness, Cohmad Securities, Colonel Elton Johnson Jr., Congress, Daniel Hannan, Dennis Kucinich, Dick Fuld, Edward Liddy, Elizabeth Warren, Erin Arvedlund, financial media, financial regulatory reform, Frank DiPascali, Franklin Raines and Leland Brendsel, George Soros, Goldman Sachs, Harvey Pitt, Helen Davis Chaitman, Helmut Kiener, Howard Kastel, incest between Wall Street and Washington, Jeff Gundlach, Jeffrey Picower, Jimmy Cayne, Joe Saluzzi, Joe the Plumber, John Edwards Mark Sanford Rod Blagoevich, John Mauldin, john wooden, Jonathan Cuneo, Jonathan Weil of Bloomberg, Judge Jed Rakoff, Judge Lawrence McKenna, Kenneth Rogoff, Larry Johnson, Larry Summers, Laurie Goodman of Amherst Securities, Lew Rockwell, Lloyd Blankfein CEO of Goldman Sachs, Madoff family, Mark Madoff, Marta Mossburg, Martin Feldstein, Mary Landrieu, Mary Schapiro, media in America, Mike Duggan of Domus, Nicholas Cosmo of Agape World, Oppenheimer Holdings E-Trade Schwab Pimco Van-Kampen Blackrock, Paul Keating, Paul Volcker, Pete Peterson Genevievette Walker-Lightfoot, Peter King, Peter Madoff, Peter Weinberg, Phil Trupp, PPIP, Raj Rajaratnam of Galleon Group, Rham Emanuel, Richard Greenfield, Richard Ketchum, Robert Benmosche, Robert Jaffe, Robert reich, Robert Rubin, Ronnie Sue Ambrosino, Ruth Madoff, Sean D'Arcy, SEC, Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Fame Hall of, Sense on Cents 2009 Hall of Shame, Shana Madoff, Shelia Bair, Sin-Ming Shaw, SIPC, Sonny and Marcia Cohn, Steven Rattner, Susan Antilla of Bloomberg, Taylor Bean Whitaker, Tea parties, Thaddeus McCotter, The Wall Street Journal, Themis Trading, Thomas Hoenig, Tiger Woods, Tim Geithner tax cheat, Tom Lauria, truth transparency and integrity, Wall street management, Walter Noel, William K. Black
Posted in General, Sense on Cents | 31 Comments »
Charlie Rose Speaks to Tim Geithner
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 11th, 2009 12:54 PM |
I will provide my insights and perspectives on Charlie Rose’s interview of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner last evening. The interview has been broken down into 6 separate clips, with my commentary preceding each clip.
Part 1
In this clip, Geithner wears both the political and policy hats. While promoting the Obama agenda initially (housing, education, healthcare, energy), he then turns toward the specifics of unlocking the consumer credit securitization markets via the TALF (Term Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility). This facility attempts to restart the securitization market and model which I wrote was broken back on November 12th (The Wall Street Model Is Broken…and Won’t Soon be Fixed). That market provides approximately 40% of the financing to a wide array of consumer finance markets. Geithner attempts to portray a measure of confidence and aggressiveness. The market has currently responded with a vote of no confidence.
Part 2 (more…)
Tags: Asset Backed Securities, Budget, Chuck Hagel, Congress, Economic All Star, FINRA, John Mauldin, Jumbo mortgages, Larry Summers, Leon Panetta, Mark-to-Market, Obama Administration, Omnibus Bill, Paul Keating, Robert Rubin, SEC, Stimulus Plan, TALF, Tim Geithner, World Bank
Posted in Auto Industry, Bad Bank, Bank Stress Test, Banking Institutions, Barack Obama, Chuck Hagel, Commerce, Congress, Credit Risk, Current Affairs, Economy, Equity Markets, FINRA, General, Lobbyists, Mortgages, Obama Administration, Republicans, Risk, Tim Geithner, Wall Street | 7 Comments »