In part One I argued that if we want to understand why our rulers have insisted we MUST bail out the banks we simply have to look at who owns the banks and the vast bulk of the wealth they house. And surprise, surprise the owners of most of the financial ‘wealth’ are…our rulers and …
Why are we bailing out the banks? Part two. Theory, Ideology and Failure. Read More »
We’ve all seen the film ‘Groundhog Day’. Well, we’re in it. Every morning the radio plays a song which has the chorus, “I rob you babe”. And sure enough when the news comes on, they have. A full five years of pumping money in to the banks and still our leaders will not even consider …
Why are we bailing out the banks? Part One. The Simple Answer. Read More »
This is the text of a speech (Which you can see here) given by Irish whistle-blowing former banker Jonathan Sugarman speaking recently in Athens. Τhe function was organized by ATTAC-Hellas in collaboration with the Greek Committee for a Public Debt Audit. Sugarman spoke on the Libor scandal, the lack of transparency in banking practices, the …
From Reuters this evening – Japanese Banking Minister Tadahiro Matsushita was found hanged at his home on Monday in what police suspect was a suicide, Kyodo news agency said. Obvioulsy very sad for him and his family. That aside I cannot help but wonder – why?
Part one was the Bad Bank. Part two was, what might be in the BB courtesy of Bankia and the other Caja. Part three… Part two of this series ended talking about Recourse and Non-recourse loans. Noting that Spanish mortgages are recourse. Meaning that if the borrower defaults the lender/bank has recourse to not only the collateral …
Just a quick note. Which I must warn you is to be read or ignored as ‘pondering out loud’. Is it me or is something happening in the Bond market that hints at broader changes? This morning a German government bond auction for €5 billion in 10 year bonds, failed. In normal times that would …
In part one of Spain – Bad Banks, Assets, Losses and Lies – henceforth known as Spain’s BALLS. I set out what a Bad Bank actually is and how I think it will be used largely to the detriment of the Spanish people. In this second part I want to see if we can piece …
Spain’s BALLS – Part two – Asset, losses and Lies. Read More »
I thought it might be a good moment to take a broad look at Spain’s financial troubles and outlook. For those of you who tire of details, the executive summary is that is that it is bad and without a doubt going to get considerably worse over the next 6 – 18 months despite Spanish …
I just wanted to write a quick note about HSBC and money laundering. When we hear of a bank caught money laundering there is a tendency, gently encouraged I think, by the banks and the media, to think of it as we would if we heard of someone in our street having been caught fencing …
A word about banks and the laundering of drug money Read More »
Governments, so they tell us, want the banks to lend into the real economy to get people working, earning, buying and paying both their taxes and their debts. Problem is, I do not think the financial industry shares this desire. They say they do. They say they are doing their bit. But they are not. …
