Banks fined, to plead guilty to market rigging

[Greg Bernhardt]

JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Barclays and The Royal Bank of Scotland conspired with one another to fix rates on U.S. dollars and euros traded in the huge global market for currencies.

http://www.pressherald.com/2015/05/20/banks-fined-2-5-billion-to-plead-guilty-to-market-rigging/

I had little faith is the banking industry, I now have none. Is there anything honest about this industry? It's a total sham scam thank you m'am and we are all sucker pawns.

 

[Arsenic&Lace]

What frustrates me most is how impotent we seem to be to curtail these crooks. 2.5 billion is pennies.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

2.5 billion is pennies

There is no incentive to stop. The fine is but a small fraction of what they must have profited.

 

[Arsenic&Lace]

Part of the problem, I think, arises from the fact that top-down intervention is pretty limited in its ability to attack this issue. The actual structure of a mostly market based economy seems to distribute wealth in an almost random fashion, judging from the fact that it seems to favor wealth distributions which are highly unequal.

 

[SW VandeCarr]

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder frankly admitted that some banks are simply too big to prosecute. Well, I don't agree. The US government once broke up the big oil trusts. It has the power to break up the big banks now. The danger to the world economy is greater if we don't IMHO.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/eric-holder-banks-too-big_n_2821741.html

Of course, the present Congress will never go along with that. TR, where are you when we need you?

 

[edward]

It looks like we were a bit slower to pin them down on this side of the pond.

Foreign exchange fines: banks handed £2.6bn in penalties for market rigging

http://www.theguardian.com/business...tibank-jp-morgan-rbs-penalties-market-rigging

 

[Astronuc]

Former US Attorney General Eric Holder frankly admitted that some banks are simply too big to prosecute.

Too big to fail, is now to big to prosecute?! Either one upholds the law or one doesn't. So when are corporations above the law? What happened to RICO (US Code, Title 18)?

18 U.S. Code § 1962 - Prohibited activities
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person who has received any income derived, directly or indirectly, from a pattern of racketeering activity or through collection of an unlawful debt in which such person has participated as a principal within the meaning of section 2, title 18, United States Code, to use or invest, directly or indirectly, any part of such income, or the proceeds of such income, in acquisition of any interest in, or the establishment or operation of, any enterprise which is engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce.

(c) It shall be unlawful for any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt.18 U.S. Code § 1961 - Definitions
As used in this chapter—
(1) “racketeering activity” means . . . . (it covers a lot of activities)

 

[Arsenic&Lace]

No retribution is expected at the polls for leaving the banks untouched. I suppose it's just another sign of how apathetic and uninformed the American voters actually are.