« First « Previous Comments 173 - 212 of 326 Next » Last » Search these comments
To restore real capitalism, put the fear of God back in Wall Street
The trouble with Wall Street isn’t that too many bankers get rich in the booms. The trouble is that too few get poor — really, suitably poor — in the busts. To the titans of finance goes the upside. To we the people, nowadays, goes the downside. How much better it would be if the bankers took the losses just as they do the profits.
Happily, there’s a ready-made and time-tested solution. Let the senior financiers keep their salaries and bonuses, and let them do with their banks what they will. If, however, their bank fails, let the bankers themselves fail. Let the value of their houses, cars, yachts, paintings, etc., be assigned to the firms’ creditors.
Of course, there are only so many mansions, Bugattis and Matisses to go around. And many, many such treasures would be needed to make the taxpayers whole for the serial failures of 2007-09. Then again, under my proposed reform not more than a few high-end sheriff’s auctions would probably ever be held. The plausible threat of personal bankruptcy would suffice to focus the minds of American financiers on safety and soundness as they have not been focused for years.
“The fear of God,” replied George Gilbert Williams, president of Chemical Bank of New York around the turn of the 20th century, when asked the secret to his success. “Old Bullion,” they called Chemical for its ability to pay out gold to its depositors even at the height of a financial panic. Safety was Chemical’s stock in trade. Nowadays, safety is nobody’s franchise except Washington’s. Gradually and by degree, starting in the 1930s — and then, in a great rush, in 2008 — the government has nationalized it.
No surprise, then, the perversity of Wall Street’s incentives. For rolling the dice, the payoff is potentially immense. For failure, the personal cost, while regrettable, is manageable.
Senior executives of Lehman Brothers, Citi, AIG and Merrill Lynch, among other stricken institutions, did indeed lose their savings. What they did not necessarily lose is the rest of their net worth.
In Brazil, which learned a thing or two about frenzied finance during its many bouts with hyperinflation, bank directors, senior bank officers and controlling bank stockholders know that they are personally responsible for the solvency of the institutions with which they are associated.
Let them fail, and their net worths are frozen for the duration of often-lengthy court proceedings. If worse comes to worse, the responsible and accountable parties can lose their all.
The substitution of collective responsibility for individual responsibility is the fatal story line of modern American finance. Bank shareholders used to bear the cost of failure, even as they enjoyed the fruits of success.
If a bank in which shareholders invested went broke, a court-appointed receiver dunned them for money with which to compensate depositors and other creditors. That system was in place for 75 years, until the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. pushed it aside in the 1930s.
- Jim Grant, Legendary Financial Historian, and my 2024 Presidential Candidate
Happily, there’s a ready-made and time-tested solution. Let the senior financiers keep their salaries and bonuses, and let them do with their banks what they will. If, however, their bank fails, let the bankers themselves fail. Let the value of their houses, cars, yachts, paintings, etc., be assigned to the firms’ creditors.
People about to lose their jobs:
https://twitter.com/pdubdev/status/1634726928040214530?ref_src=patrick.net
I'd bet a testicle there's not a single white heterosexual male that works as a diversity and inclusion officer anywhere in the world.
Their supposed merits aside, you aren't seriosly proposing to run to Lybia under Gaddafi or Iran some 60 years ago, are you? Or US in the early 1800s? How? There is no time machine.
The group’s lack of banking expertise is likely to be a focus for investigators. Just one current member — King — has had a career at the top of the investment banking world.
What is clear is that the bank, and much of the board, burnished their Democratic credentials as part of their strategy.
Eric Holder says
Their supposed merits aside, you aren't seriosly proposing to run to Lybia under Gaddafi or Iran some 60 years ago, are you? Or US in the early 1800s? How? There is no time machine.
Gotcha. Just saying it has happened, during our lifetime, and will happen again.
Could certainly be going on now, I'm not familiar with every countries/islands finances. Iran's central bank is not part of the Rothschild system, which is why they face so much constant pressure from other countries, mostly the US. Tanzania was on the road to financial prosperity under Magufuli, very similar to Libya, but he made fun of Covid and wound up dead.
The Federal Reserve is technically bankrupt.
In 2023 the Fed will post its first annual operating loss of $80 billion since 1915. It will have a negative capital of $38B.
This loss does not count the $1.3 trillion unrealized loss on its portfolio.
I'm not really sure I'd like to live in Gaddafi's Lybia, tbh, central bank or not.
I'm not really sure I'd like to live in Gaddafi's Lybia, tbh, central bank or not.
Putting things in perspective on bank failures. Then and now. Now is missing Silvergate Bank in the picture.
Eman says
Putting things in perspective on bank failures. Then and now. Now is missing Silvergate Bank in the picture.
Adjust for inflation since then. Comparing 2006 to 2023 is vastly different. It looks big now, but it's really not. Also the banks closing had their hands in the crypto game which lost 78% of value since its peak around December. A lot of people and businesses lost their asses in that realm. It wasn't a bank run, they had to pay bills and the funny money in crypto was gone. So they took their deposits out to keep businesses afloat.
Factor in FTX which was all in the same realm of investment and you have a shit storm. We have the tech bust in 2001, housing bust in 2007 (ish) and this will go down as the crypto bust. Unfortunately it's dragging tech into ...
I see where we don’t see eye to eye. We’ve had only 3 bank failures…..so far…..compared to all the bank failures during the GFC. Will we have more bank failures? I hope NOT! I hope J Powell and Yellen put an end to the bank runs with their joined statement on Sunday. 🙏
« First « Previous Comments 173 - 212 of 326 Next » Last » Search these comments
Oh yeah, and to once again blow away the bullshit about everyone being insured, read the article about how some depositors will have to pray dividend sales will someday return their deposits to them.
For some fun search bank run and see what some of the top images are.
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/300-billion-reasons-why-svb-contagion-spreading-broader-banking-system