Tag Archives: banking

Gangster Bankster Sandy Weill Comes To Jesus…Not

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Here is an example of why following politics is not about “what” but about “who”.

That means it’s imperative that names are named and context provided in as much detail as needed.

There are many people, including me, who blame the repeal of Glass-Steagall for enabling the financial crisis. Who lobbied for it? Sandy Weill, of Citibank, among others. The repeal profited Weill.

Now, ten years and counting after that heist, here comes Weill to co-opt, for his own motives, the perfectly legitimate demand to break up the banks.

Except, since it comes out of Weill’s mouth, it’s not longer a legitimate move to defend against financial terrorism against the population.

It will have to be rejected.

Naturally, those who are hip to this kind of thing (like the ever so sharp Bob English over at EPJ) then look like turn-coats or defenders of the status-quo.  Of course, they are not. They are just too clever to be played.

But you would need to know the concrete particulars of what’s happening to know that. You can’t just follow some ideological script.

Following the twists and turns takes unremitting hard work, which Mr. Wenzel and Mr. English  amply provide on their deservedly popular masculinist and finance-capital-friendly blog.

[They like to retweet Rupert Murdoch more than I would be happy to. But when they catch one of these kinds of moves, it’s worth putting up with Uncle Rupert…]

“Bob English emails to explain how Weill should make a few more bucks if the Return of Glass-Stegall [sic] comes to a bank near you:

This is like when Lord Evelyn  [Rothschild] condescends himself to an interview with the Money Honey. Something big is in the works and Weill is the oligarch delivering the message today. This is likely part of the battle for the new payments system. But, Weill, post-Citi, isn’t lobbying on behalf of the banks anymore. As you probably know, Weill is ex-AmEx, but he also now has links to MasterCard:

http://newsroom.mastercard.com/press-releases/mastercard-and-sonoma-state-university-unveil-long-term-relationship-in-support-of-the-performing-arts/

Someone has to take the fall as part of the generation of political will to enact drastic new legislation that splits retail and institutional banking (if not the currency system itself, per Mervyn King’s suggestion). This is far bigger than the pusillanimous Volcker Rule, and I think it will eventually involve the repeal or amendment of the BHC Act, as I alluded to on the last CA appearance. LIBOR would seem to be but one battle front against the banks (though a major one).”

None of the entrenched financial interests want to be left in the dust when tech is allowed to enter the field (especially, the CIA vis a vis AmEx and MC). So the Weill interview looks like the payment processors are throwing the banks under the bus to keep as much of the action as possible.”

Wikileaks’ Role In Julius Baer Case Linked to Soros, Sachs, & Spooks?

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From The Wayne Madsen Report (a subscription-based service) comes this analysis (April, 2010) of the attack on the financial privacy of Swiss money manager, Julius Baer Group, exposed by whistle-blower Rudolf Elmer:

“WMR’s financial intelligence sources report that the unauthorized disclosure of a compact disk to Wikileaks that contained financial details of the clients of the secretive and usually highly-secure Zurich-based independent money management Julius Baer Group was designed to destroy the firm’s standing with its customers and make it ripe for a hostile takeover by interests associated with multi-billionaire vulture capitalist George Soros, including Goldman Sachs. Julius Baer was founded in the 19th century. Continue reading →

Rothschild (Dec. 2008): Buy Bonds, Oil, and Raw Materials

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Video 1: An interesting interview by Maria Bartiromo of Sir Evelyn de Rothschild on the financial crisis (December 2008). Here’s a quick break down of his main points: Continue reading →

Mexican President Nominated For Citi Director

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Robert Wenzel at Economic Policy Journal:

“Citi’s Board of Directors has nominated Ernesto Zedillo as a new non-management director candidate to stand for election at Citi’s annual shareholder meeting on April 20, 2010. He was the President of Mexico from 1994 to 2000 and is now Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization and Professor in the Field of International Economics and Politics at Yale University.

Zedillo (58) worked at Mexico’s Central Bank (Banco de Mexico), serving in various positions, including those of deputy Head of Economic Research and deputy Director. Zedillo is on the boards of Alcoa Inc. and Procter & Gamble Company.

Obviously, despite the fact that it almost blew itself up because of schemes far from traditional banking, Citi continues to take the New World Order approach to banking.

There is nothing wrong with Citi attempting to penetrate into Latin America for business but, putting a former Mexican president on the board smacks of penetration via back door crony government deals versus attempting to serve the serve the consumer in the Latin American countries.

Sure, you have to deal with the crooked governments in these countries, but that’s what you have connected law firms for. They get things done in a very low key efficient manner. Putting Zedillo on the board sends a different signal, that Citi will not only deal with Latino politicians, but that it is part of the crooked club.”

Libertarian Living: Move Your Money

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Arianna Huffington has a web site called, Move Your Money, to get people to shift their money to smaller banks, something I´ve been advocating on this blog for a while.

“For starters, you could move your money to a small bank. To do so, click on the button that says Find A Bank. But there are dozens of other possibilities: You can get your friends or organizations to do the same. You can use your online social networks to help broadcast the idea. You can look into where your town government keeps its money and, if it uses a big bank, you could try to get it to use a smaller bank. Start your own website (to improve upon or replace this one), dive into the research about smaller banks, and help give rise to a bigger, broader effort.”

DTCC Board Stuffed With Kleptocrat Banks/Funds

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The DTCC (Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation) is the largest depository in the world, and, along with its subsidiaries, the place where all transactions in equities, money market funds, corporate and muni bonds, MBSs and derivatives are cleared and settled.  Activists have been demanding detailed release of trades which haven’t been settled or have failed to deliver (FTD), because of the obvious potential for manipulation, A glance at the board of directors, which consists of leading figures from the banks and funds, many of whom profited hugely from the government bail-out, shows that concern is amply warranted.

From Citizen Economists:

DTCC BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The DTCC’s board includes 20 directors.

Art Certosimo, Senior Executive VP, Bank of New York Mellon
Norman Malo, President and CEO, National Financial Services LLC; Fidelity Investments
Stephen P Casper, Partner, Vastardis Capital
Gerald A. Beeson, Senior Managing Director, COO. Citadel Investment Group
Donald F. Donahue, Chairman and CEO, DTCC
William B. Airnetti, President and COO, DTCC
J. Charles Cardona,  CEO Bank of New York Mellon – Cash Investment Strategies,  President of the Dreyfus Corporation
Randolph L. Cowen, Co-Chief Administrative Officer, Goldman Sachs Group Inc
Norman Eaker, CAO, Edward Jones
Timothy J. Theriault, President – Corporate & Institutional Services, Northern Trust Company
Neeraj Sahai, Managing Director and Global Business Head, Securities and Fund Services, Citi
Gerard La Rocca, Chief Administrative Officer, Americas Barclays Capital
David A. Weisbrod, Managing Director and Risk Executive, JP Morgan Chase Bank
Stephen Luparellyo, Vice Chairman and Senior Executive Vice President of Regulatory Operations, FINRA
Mark Alexander, Managing Director, Global Wealth and Investment Management – Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, Head of Technology Operations, Broadcort Clearing
Ronald Purpora, ICAP Securities USA LLP
Robert Kaplan, Executive Vice President, State Street Bank and Trust Company
Michele Trogni, Managing Direcotr and Global Head of Operations, UBS Investment Bank
Ian Lowitt, Administrative Officer, Lehman Brother

Muslims Should Withdraw Money from Swiss Banks..

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Teheran Times:

“Turkish State Minister and Chief Negotiator for EU talks Egemen Bagis has urged Muslim nations to withdraw their money from Swiss banks.

Bagis’ comments came in response to a recently approved ban on the construction of new minarets in Switzerland.

Following a weekend referendum, the construction of any new minaret was declared illegal in Switzerland, a move which drew sharp criticism from Muslim and European countries, as well as the UN and the Vatican.”

Ron Paul: Fractional Banking Finances War…

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John Rubino on Ron Paul:

*”Paul makes it clear that the Fed isn’t the whole problem. It’s just one part of a system that first went wrong with the introduction of fractional reserve banking centuries ago (banks used to be warehouses, storing depositors’ money for a fee), followed by the spread of European central banks (really just scams to allow a few elite bankers and politicians to expand their own power at the expense of everyone else) and then, finally, the introduction of fiat currency, which freed governments to expand spending and borrowing without regard to, well, anything. The problem, in short, is the whole of modern banking and finance.

*The middle part of the book features transcripts of Congressman Paul grilling Fed chairmen Greenspan and Bernanke. Some of these transcripts date back to the early Reagan era, which means that for going on three decades Paul has been fighting this fight, and slamming into the same brick wall. The Chairmen feel no need to explain themselves to a lowly congressman, and respond with a mixture of lies and obfuscation that apparently fooled most of Washington. The generally-respectful Paul even refers to Greenspan as “pathetic” after one especially dishonest piece of testimony. Less charitable readers will, by the end of this section, want to take a congressional microphone and beat Greenspan and Bernanke senseless.

*Fractional reserve banking and fiat currency make war easier. Back when a ruler needed actual gold to field an army, invading a neighbor required some serious forethought. But once a dictator (or the world’s policeman) could just print a few billion pieces of paper and order some new tanks, “defending the national interest” got a whole lot easier. Hence the bloodbath of the 20th century, and perhaps the mess of the coming decade.

*Paul knows all the major sound money/Austrian economics classics, and he cites them liberally. The “recommended reading” list contains a year’s worth of serious research.

*Though he continues to fight, he’s not optimistic about averting the coming train wreck, which he refers to as the “BIG ONE”.