After cowering in the darkness taking the taxpayer's money, suddenly the big bankers are coming out into the sunshine. Like cornered rats, bankers are striking back at their critics:
- Their spiritual leader, Alan Greenspan, is now absolving his own monetary policies of causing the financial crisis.
- Citibank leaks a labored memo from their CEO touting two-month earnings increase knowing full well balance sheet adjustments will be made in the third month
- Banks big and small are suddenly solvent on their own and want to give back government money "as soon as possible"
- Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., said the U.S. can rescue its banking system by the end of the year if officials start cooperating and stop the "vilification" of corporate America.
One word is driving this panic:
PROSECUTIONS.
On Monday, March 9, Keith Olberman explained the breaking of rules and laws:
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On Tuesday, March 10, banks big and small wanted to give back government money "as soon as possible". The same day Citi stokes the market with a chirpy memo from the CEO of Citibank touting two-month earnings increase knowing full well balance sheet adjustments will be made in the third month.
Today Wednesday March 11, Alan Greenspan absolves his own monetary policies of causing the financial crisis. On the day, Bloomberg reports the following:
Congress called Dimon and seven other bank CEOs to Washington last month to face criticism for outsized pay packages and executive perks at a time when losses were rising and the U.S. was pumping billions of dollars into their companies. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd led an effort to put new restrictions on banks that receive government support.
"When I hear the constant vilification of corporate America, I personally don’t understand it," Dimon said in his speech. "I would ask a lot of our folks in government to stop doing it because I think it’s hurting our country."
Now we learn the real reason these guys are coming out of the shadows: fear. Fear of prosecutions at the local, state and federal levels. The Times reports that the natives are getting restless:
"It’s going to be open season," says Daniel M. Petrocelli, a defense lawyer whose clients include Jeffrey K. Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron. "You’ll see a lot of indictments down the road, and you’ll see a lot of prosecutions that rely on vague theories of ‘deprivation of honest services.’ "
And the Obama administration is not sitting quietly:
One person who had discussed the matter with Mr. Holder, but declined to be identified because he was not authorized to speak for the Justice Department, said that the attorney general was deciding whether to form a task force to centralize the effort or allow state attorneys general to develop cases on their own.
A Justice Department spokesman, Matthew A. Miller would not comment, other than to write by e-mail, "It will be a top priority of the Justice Department to hold accountable executives who have engaged in fraudulent activities."
Looks like our masters are running a bit scared!