Banking

Reinventing Banking: From Russia To Iceland To Ecuador

December 14, 2015 Ellen Brown, www.maxkeiser.com Create! Banking, Development, Money

By Ellen Brown for Max Keiser - Global developments in finance and geopolitics are prompting a rethinking of the structure of banking and of the nature of money itself. Among other interesting news items: In Russia, vulnerability to Western sanctions has led to proposals for a banking system that is not only independent of the West but is based on different design principles. In Iceland, the booms and busts culminating in the banking crisis of 2008-09 have prompted lawmakers to consider a plan to remove the power to create money from private banks...

HSBC Whistleblower Sentenced To 5 Years In Prison

November 29, 2015 Andrew Emett, www.nationofchange.org Resist! Banking, Finance and the Economy, Whistleblowers

By Andrew Emett for Nation of Change. A former HSBC employee was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for aggravated industrial espionage. Although HSBC claims the whistleblower initially stole the information for his own personal financial gain, his revelations exposed international fraud, tax evasion, and money-laundering scams involving thousands of corrupt businessmen and arms dealers. While developing a client management database for HSBC’s Swiss private bank in 2004, Hervé Falciani was handed access to extremely sensitive and incriminating data. According to the private bank accounts, HSBC was allowing criminal organizations to launder their blood money while turning a blind eye to affluent clients committing tax evasion. Instead of ignoring the data, Falciani brought his laptop into work and downloaded the details of approximately 130,000 HSBC accounts. On December 11, 2014, the Swiss government indicted Falciani for violating the country’s bank secrecy laws and committing industrial espionage. Instead of extraditing Falciani or filing charges against him, the French government opened a criminal investigation into HSBC. Refusing to appear in Swiss court, Falciani dismissed the legal proceedings against him as a “parody of justice.” Convicted in absentia, Falciani was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for committing the largest leak in banking history.

Ed Snowden Of Banking Refuses To Attend Swiss Trial

November 1, 2015 Staff, www.afp.com Resist! Banking, Switzerland

By Staff for AFP - Hervé Falciani, a 43-year-old French-Italian national, leaked a cache of documents allegedly indicating that HSB C's Geneva private banking arm helped more than 120,000 clients to hide €180.6 billion ($205.4 billion) from tax authorities. While he is widely viewed as a whistleblower and hailed as a hero in countries where his leaked information is helping to net tax cheats, the Swiss authorities remain intent on prosecuting him. "I am not going," Falciani told reporters in Divonne-les-Bains, France, just a stone's throw from the border with Switzerland where he is facing charges of data theft, industrial espionage, and violating the country's long-cherished banking secrecy laws. "In Switzerland, the conditions for a fair and balanced trial are not there, in my opinion," he said. Falciani failed to show for his trial in the southern Swiss city of Bellinzona earlier this month, and his case was adjourned until November 2nd. As a French national living in France, he cannot be extradited to Switzerland.

Killing Off Community Banks: Consequence Of Dodd-Frank?

October 24, 2015 Ellen Brown, www.truthdig.com Educate! Banking

By Ellen Brown for Truth Dig - At over 2,300 pages, the Dodd Frank Act is the longest and most complicated bill ever passed by the US legislature. It was supposed to end “too big to fail” and “bailouts,” and to “promote financial stability.” But Dodd-Frank’s “orderly liquidation authority” has replaced bailouts with bail-ins, meaning that in the event of insolvency, big banks are to recapitalize themselves with the savings of their creditors and depositors. The banks deemed too big are more than 30% bigger than before the Act was passed in 2010, and 80% bigger than before the banking crisis of 2008. The six largest US financial institutions now have assets of some $10 trillion, amounting to almost 60% of GDP; and they control nearly 50% of all bank deposits.

Tens Of Thousands Protest For 8th Day Over Bank Corruption

September 14, 2015 Brianna Lee, www.ibtimes.com Resist! Banking, Europe, Moldova

By Brianna Lee in International Business Times - An estimated 20,000 protesters gathered in Moldova’s capital of Chisinau for the eighth consecutive day Sunday to rally for an investigation into a fraud scheme that wiped $1.5 billion from three national banks. Protesters say the scandal, which amounted to around one-eighth of the country’s gross domestic product, has damaged living standards. Hundreds of demonstrators have remained camped out in Chisinau’s central plaza since the protests organized by civic group Dignity and Truth began on Sept. 6. Many say they will stay until their demands are met. In addition to a bank probe, protesters are calling for the resignation of President Nicolae Timofti and early parliamentary elections in March as anger over endemic corruption in the impoverished former Soviet country hits its boiling point.

Millions Of Indian Workers Strike Against ‘Anti-Labor Policies’

September 4, 2015 Al Jazeera, www.america.aljazeera.com Resist! Banking, India, Mining, Worker Rights and Jobs

By Al Jazeera - Millions of Indian workers launched a 24-hour strike on Wednesday against what they said were Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “anti-labor policies,” prompting billions of dollars in economic losses. Ten major unions called the nationwide strike over the government's pro-business initiatives after recent talks with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley broke down. The unions — which represent a wide range of industries, from banking to coal mining — are demanding the government dump plans to sell off stakes in state-run companies to boost the public purse and to shutter unproductive factories. “We are against these anti-labor policies. The government is going to change the laws to benefit the corporates,” said Gurudas Dasgupta, secretary of the Indian Trade Union Congress, which has 3.6 million members.

Obama Allowing Felon Banks To Continue Federal Mortgage Lending

August 13, 2015 Shahien Nasiripour, www.huffingtonpost.com Educate! Banking, Corruption, Finance and the Economy, Law

By Shahien Nasiripour in The Huffington Post - With the blessing of the White House and the Justice Department, the Department of Housing and Urban Development is attempting to sneak through a major policy change that would enable big banks convicted of felonies to continue lending through a federal mortgage program, according to federal records and government officials. The housing agency wants to quietly delete a requirement for lenders to certify they haven’t been convicted of violating federal antitrust laws or committing other serious crimes. HUD proposed the move on May 15, without detailing the reasoning behind the change. It’s now considering public comment, with an eye towards finalizing the proposal.

A Banker Finally Goes To Jail . . . In The UK

August 4, 2015 Gavin FinchLiam Vaughan, www.bloomberg.com Educate! Banking, Corruption, Criminal Justice and Prisons, Finance and the Economy, LIBOR

By Gavin FinchLiam Vaughan for Bloomberg - Former UBS Group AG and Citigroup Inc. trader Tom Hayes, the first person to stand trial for manipulating Libor, was sentenced to 14 years in prison after being found guilty of conspiracy to rig the benchmark rate. After a week of deliberations, jurors unanimously found that the 35-year-old worked with traders and brokers to game the London interbank offered rate to benefit his own trading positions. Judge Jeremy Cooke’s sentence after the verdict is among the longest for financial crime in the U.K. “Probity and honesty are essential, as is trust. The Libor activities of which you took part in put that in jeopardy,” Cooke said as he handed out the sentence in London Monday. “A message needs to be sent to the world of banking.” Prosecutors said during the nine-week trial that Hayes was the “ringmaster” of a global network of 25 traders and brokers from at least 10 firms who tried to manipulate Libor on an industrial scale. He would bribe, bully, cajole and reward his contacts for their help in skewing the benchmark, used to price more than $350 trillion of financial contracts from mortgages to credit cards and student loans.

Hedge Funds Want Education Slashed In Puerto Rico

July 30, 2015 Mark Karlin, www.truth-out.org Educate! Austerity, Banking, Colonialism, Education, Puerto Rico

By Mark Karlin in Truth Out - According to a July 28 article in the Guardian, the financial vultures of the US are circling over Puerto Rico's skyrocketing debt, which totals more than $70 billion dollars. It is an austerity-driven death watch that by now is common practice among predatory "debt distress" consolidators: Billionaire hedge fund managers have called on Puerto Rico to lay off teachers and close schools so that the island can pay them back the billions it owes. The hedge funds called for Puerto Rico to avoid financial default - and repay its debts - by collecting more taxes, selling $4bn worth of public buildings and drastically cutting public spending, particularly on education. The group of 34 hedge funds hired former International Monetary Fund (IMF) economists to come up with a solution to Puerto Rico’s debt crisis after the island’s governor declared its $72bn debt "unpayable" - paving the way for bankruptcy.

Lawsuit Accuses 22 Banks Of Manipulating US Treasury Auctions

July 27, 2015 Reuters, www.facebook.com Educate! Banking, Corruption, Finance and the Economy, Law

By Reuters - Twenty-two financial companies that have served as primary dealers of U.S. Treasury securities were sued in federal court on Thursday, in what was described as the first nationwide class action alleging a conspiracy to manipulate Treasury auctions that harmed both investors and borrowers. The State-Boston Retirement System, the pension fund for Boston public employees, accused Bank of America's Merrill Lynch unit,Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, HSBC,JPMorgan Chase, UBS, and 14 other defendants of illegally trying to profit on the sale of Treasury bills, notes and bonds at investors' expense. According to the pension fund's complaint, filed in U.S. District Court in New York, the banks used chat rooms, instant messages and other means to swap confidential customer information and coordinate trading strategies in the roughly $12.5 trillion Treasury market.

Santa Cruz Washes Hands Of Felon Banks

July 18, 2015 Matt Stannard, www.occupy.com Resist! Banking, California, Local Politics, Santa Criz

By Matt Stannard in Occupy - In California, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty has written books on capitalism and is a founder of Next Space Coworking, a company specializing in shared workspace. He’s no revolutionary, nor an enemy of the free market. He doesn't throw bricks. But when the U.S. Department of Justice announced on May 20 that most of the wrongdoer banks were pleading guilty to felonies, Coonerty prioritized local over global, and working people over corporate profits. Spurred by a growing interest among many in Santa Cruz for economic reform, Coonerty requested that the board “not do new business for a period of five years with Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS as specified, and further direct that the County unwind existing relationships with these five banks to the greatest extent feasible.”

Grexit Or Jubilee? How Greek Debt Can Be Annulled

July 16, 2015 Ellen Brown, www.ellenbrown.com Educate! Austerity, Banking, Greece, Politics

By Ellen Brown - Greece’s creditors have finally brought the country to its knees, forcing President Alexis Tsipras to agree to austerity and privatization measures more severe than those overwhelmingly rejected by popular vote a week earlier. No write-down of Greece’s debt was included in the deal, although the IMF has warned that the current debt is unsustainable. Former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis calls the deal “a new Versailles Treaty” and “the politics of humiliation.” Greek defense minister Panos Kammenos calls it a “coup d’état” done by “blackmailing the Greek prime minister with collapse of the banks and a complete haircut on deposits.” “Blackmail” is not too strong a word. The European Central Bank has turned off its liquidity tap for Greece’s banks, something all banks need, as explained earlier here. All banks are technically insolvent, lending money they don’t have. They don’t lend their deposits but create deposits when they make loans, as the Bank of England recently confirmed.

Understanding The Defeat Means Preparing A Victory

July 16, 2015 Transform Network, www.transform-network.net/ Educate! Austerity, Banking, Europe, Greece

By Transform Network - The Greek Dilemma and Us. Nine provisional considerations after both the popular Oxi and Syriza’s Yes to the Memorandum. This is being written after the vote in the Greek parliament and before the final decision of the Eurogroup. At the moment, everything is open, and we are certain of only a couple of things. Almost everything can change, but some things will remain true. The alternative of Grexit or a third Memorandum is not the same as reform or revolution; it is only a matter of the lack of alternatives dictated by the creditors. It corresponds to the relation of forces within Europe, which can at the moment only produce defeats. The blackmailing of Greece by the creditors leaves open two paths, both of which would be defeats. This is unavoidable.

Alexis Tsipras: Latest So-Called ‘Leftist’ To Sell-Out To The Bankers

July 16, 2015 Neil Clark, www.rt.com Educate! Austerity, Banking, Europe, Greece, Left

By Neil Clark in RT - For the so-called 'radical leftist' from Greece is only the latest in a long line of ‘radicals’ and 'leftists' to betray the people who had voted for them and cave into the demands of imperialist international finance capital. The only surprising thing about Alexis Tsipras' capitulation to the troika is that anyone should be surprised by it. In Britain, we had our own version of the Greek ‘crisis’ in 1931. And like today, it was a politician nominally of the ‘left,’ the Labour Party leader Ramsay Macdonald, who eventually sided with the bankers against ordinary working people. A ‘banker-led coup’ occurred that replaced the democratically elected Labour government with a new capital-approved National Government, which moved to introduce steep cuts in public spending and slashed unemployment pay.

German Production Is A Facade Built On Bad Loans…

July 15, 2015 Thad Beversdorf, www.zerohedge.com Educate! Austerity, Banking, Europe, Germany, Greece

By Thad Beversdorf in Zerohedge - Well Greece and China have certainly taken away the need for Russia and ISIS breaking news so there’s that….. How very nice that 2 of the top 3 global threats apparently provide the West some breathing room when we have other issues to deal with. Surely this isn’t just the media determining what should be our concern and what should not? But I digress…. I want to dig into the Greece situation to provide some clarity that I feel has been lacking in mainstream media. The Greece situation is a terrible tragedy for the Greek people. However, the real crux of the matter is out of their hands. Money that is not there cannot be used to pay down debt. And so while the referendum was symbolic it really didn’t change the course of history. The true discussion and debate has been between Germany and the ECB and this dissent between the two is becoming ever harder to cover up.

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