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HomeLetter to Editorial Board of The New York Times: “Real Cause Is Regulatory Capture/Corruption”
Posted by Larry Doyle on June 30th, 2014 9:56 AM |
I sent a copy of this letter to the members of the Editorial Board of The New York Times this morning.
To the Editorial Board of The New York Times
Re: Sunday Editorial, The Dark Pool Iceberg: Lawsuit Against Barclays Shows Need for More Scrutiny
Dear Mr. Rosenthal, et al,
I was pleased to read your editorial in this past Sunday’s New York Times regarding the recent lawsuit brought by New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman against Barclays for engaging in a ‘pernicious fraud’ within its equity division and specifically in the operation of its dark pool.
The allegations made by AG Schneiderman are supported by information provided by whistleblowers who had previously worked at Barclays. The outrage by investors and the public should be justifiably long and loud. The erosion of trust and confidence in Wall Street broadly speaking will continue to undermine our economy. We all suffer in the process. (more…)
WSJ: HFT’s Real Villains Are Financial Regulators
Posted by Larry Doyle on April 3rd, 2014 10:38 AM |
In what might read as a prologue for my book, none other than the Wall Street Journal writes today that the real villains in the ongoing high frequency trading debate are our financial regulators.
Truer words were never spoken.
While America is fed a steady diet of technical terms on latency, co-location, and the like, let’s redirect the focus to where it really belongs, that is a financial regulatory system that has served to promote and protect Wall Street rather than upholding its mandate to protect investors. The evidence is overwhelming and there is very real corruption that has transpired in the process.
As the WSJ concludes:
. . . if New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and others looking for headlines want to string up high-speed traders, honesty requires them to put the regulators at the front of the rope line.
Now that’s what I’m talking about.
Let’s start with an independent investigation with the power to subpoena. Then get Chris Cox and Mary Schapiro in here.
Larry Doyle
Please order a hard copy or Kindle version of my book, In Bed with Wall Street: The Conspiracy Crippling Our Global Economy.
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The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.
Prosecutions of Financial Frauds at 20 Year Low
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 30th, 2011 5:02 PM |
I am not surprised to learn that financial frauds are being prosecuted at a rate which puts them at a 20-year low.
When the “truth is confined to secretive, fearful whispers” as I highlighted in my commentary the other day, then those who profit from the accompanying lack of transparency and integrity will swing for the fences. In fact, that is exactly what the financial services industry did for a protracted period. They are fighting tooth and nail to maintain that status quo.
The lax regulatory environment and ineffective legal maneuverings are a reflection of efforts — or lack thereof — that originated and grew during both Democratic and Republican regimes. (more…)
Matt Taibbi Exposes Wall Street’s Regulatory Capture Strongly Recommended
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 17th, 2011 6:30 AM |
Regular readers may be accustomed to my designating the relationship between our financial industry and the political crowd as the “Wall Street-Washington incest.” The technical term for this relationship is regulatory capture, as defined by our investing primer:
…the process by which regulatory agencies eventually come to be dominated by the very industries they were charged with regulating. Regulatory capture happens when a regulatory agency, formed to act in the public’s interest, eventually acts in ways that benefit the industry it is supposed to be regulating, rather than the public.
Bingo!! That’s the incestuous relationship we’re talking about.
Is the game really on the up and up? How does regulatory capture work? Who are the financial cops really protecting?
Thank you to the number of readers who pointed out to me an amazing expose of regulatory capture written by Matt Taibbi in Rolling Stone. Taibbi provides extensive detail in writing, Why Isn’t Wall Street in Jail? This article is a must read. (more…)
Calling All Auction-Rate Securities Holders
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 15th, 2010 7:15 AM |
Information is everything!!
A nation of laws will prosper if and only if the adjudication of disputes is handled in a truly robust fashion. This adjudication process should theoretically lead to the drafting and implementation of new legislation if and when necessary. While industry insiders will often lobby to influence this process both in the courts and in our legislative bodies, America needs real statesmen and true heroes who will champion worthy causes and pursue total truth, real transparency, and unbridled integrity.
The media can play a large role in highlighting and exposing injustices if it cares to perform its duties. Regrettably during our economic crisis of the last few years, the media has often largely shown itself to be as much part of the problem as part of the solution. Why do I write on this topic today? For the very simple reason that tens of thousands of our fellow Americans have largely been disowned and disenfranchised by our nation. Really? Unaccustomed hyperbole, LD? I think not. Let’s navigate further.
I have been an ardent supporter of all those in our nation today who continue to be stuck holding auction-rate securities. These people number in the many tens of thousands and their holdings run upwards of $140 BILLION. Ponder that for a second. How is it that with numbers of this magnitude, the hue and cry of the accompanying injustice is not ringing loudly across our nation. It should. (more…)
FINRA vs Amerivet Attorneys: Mano a Mano
Posted by Larry Doyle on September 30th, 2010 8:29 AM |
Will America ever learn what truly transpired within Wall Street’s self-regulatory organization, FINRA? Will FINRA be allowed to placate its members and America while not addressing the hard questions those constituencies want answered?
FINRA member firms voted overwhelmingly in support of a number of non-binding proxy proposals sponsored by Amerivet Securities. I highlighted the overwhelming vote in my August 14th commentary, FINRA Gets New ‘Sheriffs’; Amerivet Proxy Proposals Approved!! Well, I know that our financial regulatory system is far from democratic but FINRA’s response to the overwhelming votes leads one to believe FINRA looks to redefine the term, “autocratic.” Let’s review the FINRA statement and the counterpunch provided by the attorneys representing Amerivet Securities. (more…)
Madoff Investors Suing SIPC
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 24th, 2010 2:39 PM |
You can rest assured that the powers that be on Wall Street would just as soon have the Madoff saga over. The Madoff scam perpetrated on investors is an ugly reminder of the non-existent financial regulatory system during the better part of the last twenty years.
I also believe many in Washington also might like to see the Madoff saga quietly pass by. The failures of the SEC, FINRA, and SIPC in this greatest of scams are an ugly reminder of the Wall Street-Washington incest.
Well, while many of the incestuous partners would like to turn the page, there remains a lot of filth that still needs to be cleaned up and a lot of individuals and institutions that need to be held to account. (more…)
The Best of Wall Street
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 23rd, 2009 9:39 AM |
Regular readers of Sense on Cents are well aware that I have not been bashful to call out the financial industry whenever or wherever I thought it was deficient. Those deficiencies have been on the regulatory front, investor protection, abusive sales practices, questionable accounting, and more. Although these shortcomings have been highlighted in the midst of the recent economic crisis, the fact is many of them have been prevalent for a protracted period. In light of that, I am often asked the question as to why I pursued a career on Wall Street? How could I reconcile working within an industry that perpetuated such shortcomings?
My answer to those who ask such questions is the following:
1. In the course of day to day activities, the rank and file on Wall Street are not truly impacted by the overarching financial regulatory system. That system clearly has a major influence on the industry, but for those who kept their nose clean the regulators were a non-event.
From my current perch, I have a dramatically different view of the regulators and am happy to expose their shortcomings.
2. I loved the challenge of the industry! How could I utilize my intellect along with my instincts to assess how the market would move? This challenge was a daily event and was unbelievably stimulating.
3. The single greatest factor which drove my career and why I loved working on Wall Street was the competition. Regardless of where I was working at the time, I so badly wanted to compete and beat my counterparts at the other shops. How did this competition play out? I wanted to develop relationships with institutional customers so that whenever they had business to transact, they felt compelled to engage me. The competition was the daily adrenaline. There was nothing like it. The competition and results were only rewarding from the standpoint that my core values of honesty and integrity were never compromised.
I loved it.
LD
Will Wall Street Banks be Compelled to Compensate Madoff Investors?
Posted by Larry Doyle on December 15th, 2009 11:46 AM |
Will Congress hit the Wall Street banks with a one-time assessment in order to compensate Madoff investors? Why might that happen? Very simply because SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation) was woefully underfunded given the fact that SIPC member-firms, including all the large Wall Street banks, paid a token $150 (yes, that is not a misprint, a token $150) annual premium from 1996 until April 2009 for SIPC coverage.
Each and every investor in America should be livid at the insurance scam perpetrated by SIPC and its member firms, but especially by the largest firms taking the greatest risks!
I will address this insurance scam in a post later today, but for now I want to highlight an engagement between Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) and Stephen Harbeck, the head of SIPC that occurred last week during a hearing on securities investor protection reform.
This interaction should have received massive coverage by the mainstream media. Regrettably, but not surprisingly, it did not. Why? If it received the appropriate coverage, it would shine a laser beam on the incestuous nature of the relationship between Wall Street firms and its regulators (SEC and FINRA) and insurer (SIPC).
From the transcript of the hearing last week: (more…)
