Home » Babble » current events » international news and politics
babble-intro-img
babble is rabble.ca's discussion board but it's much more than that: it's an online community for folks who just won't shut up. It's a place to tell each other — and the world — what's up with our work and campaigns.

Bank bailout, or bailing out bankers?

josh
Offline
Joined: Aug 5 2002
December 22, 2008 - 2:18pm

"Banks that have their hands out in Washington this year were handing out multimillion-dollar rewards to their executives last year.

The 116 banks that so far have received taxpayer dollars to boost them through the economic crisis gave their top tier of executives nearly $1.6 billion in salaries, bonuses and other benefits in 2007, an Associated Press analysis found.

That amount, spread among the 600 highest paid bank executives, would cover the bailout money given to 53 of the banks that have shared the $188 billion that Washington has doled out in rescue packages so far.

 

. . . .

 

The AP review comes amid sharp questions about the banks' commitment to the goals of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, a law designed to buy bad mortgages and other troubled assets. Last month, the Bush administration changed the program's goals, instructing the Treasury Department to pump tax dollars directly into banks to prevent wide economic collapse.

The program set restrictions on some executive compensation for participating banks, but did not limit salaries and bonuses unless they had the effect of encouraging excessive risk to the institution."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081222/ap_on_bi_ge/executive_bailouts


  • Printer-friendly version

Comments

Lard Tunderin Jeezus
Offline
Joined: Aug 27 2001
December 22, 2008 - 2:59pm
#1
Every single one of these bastards were either incompetent, or fully aware they were engaging in the theft of their client's assets. They should all be fired, at the very least.

Lard Tunderin Jeezus
Offline
Joined: Aug 27 2001
February 19, 2009 - 12:40pm
#2

A good one I missed at the time:

Quote:
Oh, come on. Tell me you're not ashamed to put this gigantic international financial Krakatoa at the feet of a bunch of poor black people who missed their mortgage payments. The CDS market, this market for credit default swaps that was created in 2000 by Phil Gramm's Commodities Future Modernization Act, this is now a $62 trillion market, up from $900 billion in 2000. That's like five times the size of the holdings in the NYSE. And it's all speculation by Wall Street traders. It's a classic bubble/Ponzi scheme. The effort of people like you to pin this whole thing on minorities, when in fact this whole thing has been caused by greedy traders dealing in unregulated markets, is despicable.
 


Fidel
Offline
Joined: Apr 29 2004
September 13, 2009 - 3:05pm
#3

Here's a good one for those who like to snicker at the NDP and their stand against ATM fees in Bananada.

The Truth About Canada's Banks & Their Success

Quote:
The reason Canadian Banks are so successful is quite simple. They have an oligopoly structure that lends itself to high margins through low competition strategies. In short, they make tons of profit by over-charging for virtually all domestic services! Need convincing? The evidence has been sitting staring at us for years so lets point out a couple of obvious situations to get us started!

  • High Interest Savings Accounts: For years the Canadian Banks have made a fortune by offering little or no interest on your savings account...

  • Credit Cards: Foreign credit card companies also noticed that Canadian rates were very high, even though losses were quite low. In the hyper competitive card market south of the border, aggressive credit granting and extreme marketing competition pushed card companies into high risk credit granting, expensive rewards programs, and aggressive direct marketing campaigns...

 And in the 1990's, bank loans made by Canada's banking oligarchy to Canada's other oligarchies remained about the same. But loans to small business owners dropped off significantly.


clandestiny
Offline
Joined: Sep 13 2004
September 13, 2009 - 3:48pm
#4

911 then this. Banking Krakatoa. Before that, there was the 2 kelection- the vast, open air US electoral swindle of (among alot of innocent others) men who hurl abuse at anyone attacking the swindlers! Though they are a minority, they're the 'full of passionate intensity...' crowd in the famous Eliot quote, and they dominate mass media, that's for sure. John Moore, the CFRB aftnoon guy who talks to hundreds of thousands routinely, says anyone who expresses doubts about what happened on 911, ie the 'truthers,' are 'retards' (he actually said that about 420 pm one afternoon!)  It's galling to hear the thieves at the big 5 Canadian banks given credit for 'sound' banking policies when they've been exploiting the monopoly situation decreed by gov.  to engage in ursury and well organised hyena-like raids on customers acc'ts; stealing a fortune everyday from a captive customer audience, and becoming jubba the hutts dancing naked on the biz pages, to the loud applause of a handful of biz reporters who, in the case of Jenny Lee, can't hide their revulsion at being creeps.  The entire business, since WW2, has devolved until the thieves no longer hide their deeds-they now flaunt them, and watch the 'authoritahs' then scramble madly to cover up and explain and hurry up the news cycles so no one gets a chance to yell 'halt' (anyone yells halt is a retard, says Moore)...the trick was to get caught red handed, which the pigs did in 2k elections, 911 and now the 'global economic meltdown'. What we're seeing is just the hired hands doing what's needed to head off popular revoltion (now that's funny) since the crimes are so goddarn egregious only street revolt could restore law and order....

Cynicism is so inadequate in gorgebushamerica


Fidel
Offline
Joined: Apr 29 2004
September 13, 2009 - 9:45pm
#5

Good post. "Authoritahs" Ha! And, "only street revolt could restore law and order." That is too funny. Funny but true.


Fidel
Offline
Joined: Apr 29 2004
September 13, 2009 - 10:47pm
#6

Canada's 75 Billion Dollar Bank Bailout The $64 Billion Federal Budget Deficit is intended to Finance Canada's Chartered Banks

January
The Conservative government has leaked the details of Tuesday's budget. They have announced a $64 billion deficit. The Harper government, which has consistently committed itself to a "balanced budget", now claims that deficit spending is required to boost the economy at the height of a major economic recession. Does this constitute a turnaround in federal government economic policy? Is the government really committed to running a budget deficit with a view to stimulating demand and reversing the tide of economic decline. Or is there a hidden agenda? ... Canada's Bank Bailout The 64 billion dollar budget deficit should come as no surprise. It is directly related to a 75 billion dollar bank bailout program for Canada's chartered banks, announced, virtually unnoticed, four days before the October Federal election. The bank bailout received close to no media coverage; its budgetary implications were not analyzed. In a statement by Prime Minister Harper on October 10, the bank bailout was casually presented as a commitment by the Federal government to purchase an initial $25 billion in "secure" bank mortgages from the Canadian chartered banks. The transaction would be implemented through Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp: "Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) will purchase up to $25 billion in insured mortgage pools as part of the Government of Canada’s plan, announced today, to maintain the availability of longer-term credit in Canada." (Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Supports Canadian Credit Markets, CHMC Press Release, 10 October 2009) The decision implies a money transfer into the coffers of Canada's financial institutions. The money is "fungible" and can be used by the banks as they see fit:. . .

NDPP
Online
Joined: Dec 28 2008
September 14, 2009 - 3:22am
#7

The Destruction of the US Empire

http://dailyreckoning.com/the-destruction-of-the-us-empire

"the empire sinks into the mud. Yes, this is the downhill period...the slide into corruption...the period in which Juvenal complained that Romans were only interested in 'bread and circuses'."


M. Spector
Offline
Joined: Feb 19 2005
April 30, 2012 - 11:56am
#8

Fidel wrote:

Canada's 75 Billion Dollar Bank Bailout The $64 Billion Federal Budget Deficit is intended to Finance Canada's Chartered Banks

 

More like $114 billion, says the CCPA.


Lard Tunderin Jeezus
Offline
Joined: Aug 27 2001
April 30, 2012 - 12:49pm
#9

That one shocked me too, M. Spector. Like Fidel, I knew only of the 75 billion in high-risk mortgages that CMHC took off of the bankers books.

That Harper hid 45 billion in bailout loans through the Bank of Canada is shocking. Would he have stood any chance of re-election (let alone a majority) if this was public knowledge?


M. Spector
Offline
Joined: Feb 19 2005
April 30, 2012 - 1:06pm
#10

Of course he would.


kropotkin1951
Online
Joined: Jun 6 2002
April 30, 2012 - 1:36pm
#11

Canadian banks are in the Guinness book of records for the most consecutive years where the bank paid less in taxes than its tellers.  Talking about gifts to banks lets not forget student loans.


ventureforth
Offline
Joined: Aug 8 2011
April 30, 2012 - 5:05pm
#12

Lard Tunderin Jeezus wrote:

That one shocked me too, M. Spector. Like Fidel, I knew only of the 75 billion in high-risk mortgages that CMHC took off of the bankers books.

That Harper hid 45 billion in bailout loans through the Bank of Canada is shocking. Would he have stood any chance of re-election (let alone a majority) if this was public knowledge?

The number of 114 Billion includes the loans that were given by the US Fed so not all came from the Bank of Canada. When the Fed started giving short term loans, they extended loans to foreign banks which created quite a stir several years ago when disclosed.

Here is a link to one of the stories in 2010 when this was disclosed: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/02/business/economy/02fed.html?_r=1&partn...

As mentioned in the article, the total amount of the loans was $9 trillion dollars and Republicans were using the theme of "Why is America subsidizing foreign banks" to justify abolishing the Federal Reserve.


Fidel
Offline
Joined: Apr 29 2004
April 30, 2012 - 7:42pm
#13

M. Spector wrote:

Fidel wrote:

Canada's 75 Billion Dollar Bank Bailout The $64 Billion Federal Budget Deficit is intended to Finance Canada's Chartered Banks

 

More like $114 billion, says the CCPA.

I remember a certain economist from Laval objecting to the notion that it was a bailout. Good find.


Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Login or register to post comments