The cowardly political class continues their awkward attacks at the bankers because they’re being prodded by that annoying citizenry today as a new UK parliamentary report discusses the rigging of Libor interest rates. Concluding that company culture at Barclays was “deeply flawed” and the Bank of England’s removal of CEO Bob Diamond as difficult to justify, the report also slammed the UK’s Financial Services Authority (“FSA”), for being asleep on the wheel.
Further, the report said that delayed action by the FSA helped contribute to a perceived belief that London is weak on regulating financial regulation, and therefore recommended reforms – how about recommending arrests after crying about the failure to regulate?
Anyway, in response, the FSA said that its managing director Martin Wheatley will consider the report’s findings as he publishes his government-commissioned review of Libor due next month. That’s the actual mainstream news story as to the response to FSA criticism – the director will mention it in a report but we won’t recommend any substantive changes or try to fundamentally redesign the flawed system, because that’s what broken! But hey, let’s just yell at the banks and the FSA while really doing nothing to shut those citizens up!
In its report, the UK Parliament also censured Bob Diamond, the now ex-CEO of Barclays, saying that senior management should have known about Libor rate rigging earlier and should have therefore acted earlier – the “official” story is that Barclay’s compliance was warned three times by people from the floor about Libor, but such news never reached the ears of senior management, because they were too busy at charity events running for cancer cures and then going to boating events to raise money for charity afterwards, they’re really good citizens you know.
The report states that compliance at the bank was “persistently ineffective”, the actions of the bank and its traders as disgraceful, and its example harmed the industry and the reputation of the bank and concluded that Barclays “systematically” attempted to rig the rate for profit.
In response, bankster Diamond said he was “disappointed” by the report” and “strongly” disagrees with several of its conclusions. “I answered every question that was put to me truthfully, candidly and based on information available to me,” Diamond said in astatement. “I categorically refute any suggestion to the contrary.” In other words, you can shit on everyone else, but don’t shit on the Bob Diamond. Honestly, these people are sociopaths.
Barclays, on the other hand, will take the report in stride:
“While we don’t expect to agree with every finding in it, we recognize that change is required, not lest to restore stakeholder trust,” Barclays said in a statement.
Story is HERE.
This is bad dinner theater. The politicians are throwing feces at the bankers but those crooks should be in jail, but lo and behold it appears that the political class are bought! Oh what a surprise, under the table payments! They never occur, no! No sweetheart deals and gifts and numerous favors in exchange for favorable treatment, favorable laws and the turning of a blind eye, after all they’re paying for the re election campaign through their various interests!
But dang those people, that citizenry that cares for the welfare of society and humanity at large! Stop getting mad! Getting mad at bankers is not good. Stop demanding the end to war, killing is necessary because cattle, er, humanity is good for nothing, because uh, that’s just the way it is, now listen and obey your cabal controllers.
It appears that the only force that’s actually moving these political cowards are the citizenry. So, let’s push them. Let’s push them until they actually have to do something honest for once in their corrupted political lives.