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HomeConsumer Protection or Big Brother is Watching
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 26th, 2010 11:30 AM |
I am all for financial regulatory reform, but as I wrote the other day I do not trust Washington. I witness further reason not to trust the wizards in Washington after reviewing a gem buried in the Senate’s version of financial regulatory reform.
You likely will not see this in the mainstream media, but thanks to CNS News for reporting Senate Democrats Pass Bill Allowing Government to Collect Addresses, ATM Records of Bank Customers:
Senate Democrats united to pass a financial regulatory bill that allows the government to collect data on any person operating in financial markets at any level, including the collection of personal transaction records from local banks that list customers’ addresses and ATM receipts. (more…)
No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle Welcomes Richard Greenfield, Sunday Night at 8PM EDT
Posted by Larry Doyle on October 17th, 2009 2:31 PM |
UPDATE: This episode of NQR’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle has concluded. You can listen to a recording of the episode in its entirety by clicking the play button on the audio player provided below. Once the audio begins, you can advance or rewind to any portion of the episode by clicking at any point along the play bar.
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The detonation of the bombs that have hit our economy may have been launched on Wall Street, but certainly the collateral damage has been experienced nationwide if not globally. While regulators were admittedly asleep at the wheel during these attacks, who in our country is now positioned to hold bankers and regulators accountable? The media? Please. Will regulators hold themselves truly accountable? Maybe on a going forward basis, at best. Then who?
Please join me this Sunday October 18th from 8-9pm EDT for No Quarter Radio’s Sense on Cents with Larry Doyle as I welcome Richard Greenfield for what will assuredly be a riveting conversation. Who is Richard Greenfield and what areas of expertise does his firm Greenfield and Goodman occupy? Why am I so excited to have him on my show?
Greenfield and Goodman concentrates its practice in complex financial litigation and, particularly, in corporate governance, banking, consumer rights and shareholder litigation. As a direct result of the efforts of the Firm and its predecessors, many millions of dollars have been recovered for defrauded investors and other persons injured by illegal corporate activities and obtained fundamental changes in corporate governance, particularly in the areas of control procedures and risk management. The Firm and its predecessors have also been responsible for obtaining a number of particularly noteworthy judicial opinions which have not only strengthened consumer and investor rights generally, but substantially aided in the prosecution of complex litigation to preserve such rights.
As for Mr. Greenfield himself, he has a resume that just won’t quit:
RICHARD D. GREENFIELD has been admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States, the Courts of Appeals for the Second, Third, Fifth, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits, various federal district courts, as well as the Courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the State of New York and the State of Maryland. Mr. Greenfield is a 1965 graduate of the Cornell Law School, where he was awarded a J.D. In addition, he has earned degrees in Accounting (B.S. Queens College) and Business Administration (M.B.A. Columbia University Graduate School of Business).
Mr. Greenfield is thoroughly experienced in banking, securities and consumer litigation, having served as Lead or Co-Lead Counsel for plaintiffs in shareholder class and derivative actions alleging violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of corporate governance standards, in class actions brought on behalf of trust beneficiaries against major trustee-banks as well as in a wide variety of banking and consumer fraud cases. Mr. Greenfield founded and was Senior Partner in a 48 lawyer Pennsylvania-based law firm that specialized in such litigation; it was disbanded in 1993.
Rather than listing the major periodicals and news outlets in which Mr. Greenfield has been featured, it would be easier to list those in which he has not.
In the midst of all of his other professional and philanthropic activities, Mr. Greenfield is currently representing Benchmark Financial, Standard Investment Chartered, and Amerivet Securities in complaints against the Wall Street self-regulatory organization FINRA.
In the spirit of continually pursuing transparency and integrity along our economic landscape, please join me this Sunday evening for what will assuredly be a fascinating discussion with Richard Greenfield.
This show, as with all of my shows, is taped and archived along with being available as a podcast on iTunes.
LD
Consumer Financial Protection Agency or Sense on Cents
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 17th, 2009 9:27 PM |
A large initiative embedded in President Obama’s financial reforms is the launching of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Why does President Obama feel it is necessary to launch such an agency? For the very same reason I was compelled to launch Sense on Cents earlier this year.
The Wall Street Journal provides insights on this agency in writing, A New Consumer Agency With Enforcement Teeth:
President Barack Obama’s proposed regulatory revamp includes sweeping changes to help consumers make informed decisions about financial products, save for retirement and get better investment advice.
A centerpiece is the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency with authority to write and enforce rules across a slew of financial products.
Firms would also have to offer “plain vanilla” versions of products — such as a mortgage that does not include prepayment penalties and has predictable payments — along with their other offerings. The goal is to make it easier for consumers to shop around without worrying about hidden fees.
“The new agency is about making consumer credit markets work,” said Elizabeth Warren, chairman of the Congressional Oversight Panel, which oversees the government’s Troubled Assets Relief Program. Ms. Warren had proposed the idea of a financial-products safety commission in an article published in the journal Democracy in 2007.
“It’s not possible for a customer to compare three or four credit-card products and determine which one is the cheapest and which one poses the least risk,” Ms. Warren said. “This agency is about changing that.”
Consolidating the job of consumer oversight into one agency could help resolve consumer disputes more quickly and effectively.
Clearly the financial industry has not had the interests of consumers at heart. Why are so many investors dissatisfied with their banks, brokers, and financial planners? The financial companies and individuals did not protect the customers. More often than not, brokers and bankers themselves were ill equipped to understand the dynamics at work within products, the market, or the economy. (more…)
Let’s Give Barack Some Sense on Cents
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 16th, 2009 9:16 AM |
In true Washington fashion, Obama’s proposed regulatory reforms have been “leaked” to the market. Let’s review, analyze, and critique. The Wall Street Journal provides a very helpful overview of these reforms via Blueprint to Avoid Market Meltdowns:
President Barack Obama spent the first five months of his presidency trying to make sure the worst financial shock in 70 years didn’t push the U.S. economy into a depression. He will spend the next five months or so trying to redo the rules of finance so we don’t go through this again.
Enough of the Obama plan has leaked to see how Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and chief White House economist Lawrence Summers propose to protect the economy from the vulnerabilities now so painfully evident: Plug the gaps; don’t redo the organization chart. Rely heavily on the sagacity of the Federal Reserve; the alternatives are inferior. Craft a plan that has a chance of getting through Congress.
Will there be real “change” involved in Obama’s plans or a mere reshuffling of the deck chairs along with a healthy dose of Monday morning quarterbacking? Will the Wall Street-Washington cabal be exposed or solidified? Let’s navigate the landscape of Obama’s proposed reforms using the WSJ’s blueprint:
Problem: Several financial firms were so big and intertwined that their failure threatened the entire system, and they weren’t all banks.
Solution: Pump up the Fed’s role in overseeing all big “financial holding companies,” giving it explicit authority to match its responsibility. Tell it to protect the system, not only the sturdiness of the banking units of these firms. Brace for controversy: Some in Congress already think the Fed is too powerful.
So propose a “council” of regulators to share some duties, but make the Fed the heavy. (Retain the Fed’s ability to lend to anyone in a crisis, as it did to Bear Stearns and American International Group, but require it to get the formal OK of the Treasury secretary.)
Sense on ¢ents: the Fed is already charged with these responsibilities within the banking industry. I highlighted these points the other day in my post “The All Powerful Federal Reserve”:
What are the Federal Reserve’s responsibilities?
-supervising and regulating banking institutions to ensure the safety and soundness of the nation’s banking and financial system and to protect the credit rights of consumers
-maintaining the stability of the financial system and containing systemic risk that may arise in financial markets
The Fed failed to perform. Why give it more power? Obama is specifically addressing the risks within the insurance industry in designating the Fed as the authority in overseeing the entire economic system.
I believe our risks are increasing dramatically via this move. Why? Not enough checks and balances. Not enough eyes and ears and “teeth” to monitor and promote accountability. Merely because the Fed is “all powerful” does not mean that it is “all knowing,” “all capable,” and “all encompassing.” (more…)
FDIC . . . For Doing It Correctly
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 19th, 2009 2:41 PM |
Sense on Cents is very judicious in selecting our Economic All-Stars (highlighted in the left sidebar). These individuals continually display a level of professionalism, maturity, consistency, and integrity which are not commonly found in our financial or political spectrum. I deeply appreciate their insights and perspectives and enjoy sharing them with our audience at Sense on Cents and No Quarter USA.
I thank Susan and Andy for tipping me off to remarks made earlier today in which Sheila Bair Says “Too Big to Fail” Strategy for Financial Institutions Must End. The administration and other political pundits are trying to make the case that the Federal Reserve should serve as the systemic risk regulator. In my opinion, Sheila Bair should occupy that role. There is a major political battle developing over this turf. Make no mistake that how this battle plays out will have deep and longstanding implications for our financial system as a whole and for individual consumers. (more…)
