Contrary to popular belief, banks are not tools used to serve the public good. In reality, modern day banking is basically used to serve private needs. There is no need to engage in conspiracy theories or debate, the facts speak for themselves.
Below are a list of banks that have engaged in fraud and/or other criminal activities:
- Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse has pleaded guilty to helping thousands of US clients evade paying taxes to the US government
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-27478532 - Bank of America to pay Fannie Mae billions to settle mortgage claims
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20934751 - JP Morgan and Credit Suisse pay $417m to settle securities charges
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20370509 - HSBC to pay $1.9bn in US money laundering penalties http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20673466 http://www.democracynow.org/2012/12/13/matt_taibbi_after_laundering_800_million
- Drug money saved banks in global crisis, claims UN advisor
http://www.guardian.co.uk/global/2009/dec/13/drug-money-banks-saved-un-cfief-claims - UBS fined $1.5bn for Libor rigging
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20767984 - Swiss bank Wegelin to close after US tax evasion fine
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-20907359 - AIG Settlement: Insurance Giant Agrees To Pay Investors $725 Million settlement to resolve allegations of wide-ranging fraud
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/16/aig-settlement-investors_n_649910.html - Banks Financing Mexico Gangs Admitted in Wells Fargo and Wachovia Deal
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-06-29/banks-financing-mexico-s-drug-cartels-admitted-in-wells-fargo-s-u-s-deal.html - Goldman Sachs Will Settle Fraud Case for $550 Million http://www.cnbc.com/id/38267132/Goldman_Sachs_Will_Settle_Fraud_Case_for_550_Million
- Bank of America sued for alleged mortgage fraud
http://money.cnn.com/2012/10/24/news/companies/bank-of-america-lawsuit/index.html - Wells Fargo Committed Mortgage Fraud To Maximize Profits, U.S. Suit Says
http://www.forbes.com/sites/halahtouryalai/2012/10/09/wells-fargo-committed-mortgage-fraud-to-maximize-profits-us-attorney-lawsuit/ - J.P. Morgan Sued on Mortgage Bonds http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390444138104578030903731665328.html
- Citigroup announced a deal to pay Fannie Mae $968m for loans sold to it between 2000 and 2012
http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-07-01/business/40298858_1_fannie-mae-government-owned-mortgage-giant-mortgage-claims - Citigroup agreed a $395m accord with Freddie Mac mortgage claim settlement
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24237900 - Wells Fargo agrees $869m settlement with Freddie Mac
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24329482 - Dutch bank Rabobank says it has agreed to pay fines of 774m euros ($1bn; £662m) imposed by US, UK and Dutch regulators over the Libor interest rate-fixing scandal
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24730242 - EU fines banks over rate-rigging
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25215560 - S&P to pay $1.4bn to regulators in sub-prime debt case
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-31115174 - Five of the world’s largest banks are to pay fines totalling $5.7bn (£3.6bn) for charges including manipulating the foreign exchange market.
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32817114 - Well Fargo agrees to pay $150 million to customers for creating as many as 3.5 million fake accounts on the customers’ behalf. This just after confirming it would pay $80 million after wrongly charging 570,000 customer for auto insurance. http://www.bbc.com/news/business-41113665
- Deutsche Bank headquarters raided over money laundering. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46382722
- Swiss banking giant UBS has been fined €3.7bn (£3.2bn; $4.2bn) in a French tax fraud case. https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47305227
So if banks are willing to engage in criminal activities to serve private needs at the expense of the general public, what should we do about them?
Leave a Reply