Chancellor of the Exchequer, er, Treasury Secretary, Timmy Geithner, has fallen down the well…again. He’s probably wondering where the hell that hyperactive collie is when he needs her.

Timmy’s been down there before. There were allegations of excessive coziness with some of the most crapulent bankers in the biz before he was even confirmed. He failed to implement some of the simplest, most popular aspects of the bailout – like killing excessive executive compensation inflated by the fine job they did tanking the world economy. He’s stabbed his boss Barack in the back several times by publicly challenging him and outright refused to implement some Obama financial policies. With a SecTreas like him, who needs regulators cum lobbyists?

This time, the trip down the hole is over the LIBOR scandal that has ensnared 16 British, Swiss, and U.S. banks. The banks diddled LIBOR rates that control mortgage costs for fun and profit. Lots of profit. Like billions and billions of it. It turns out regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, including the top echelons of British government and then Fed Chairman Timmy knew about it back in 2007.

According to documents requested by Republican Rep. Randy Neugerber, Geither responded with some wimpy phone calls that went something like this:

“Hello London. We heard your guys have been playing some muy serioso financial hanky-panky. ‘Sup with that?”

“Oh my good chap, nothing actually. Just bankers being bankers I’m afraid. Pip, pip cheerio. Let’s do lunch next time you’re in London. We’ll put it on Barclays’ (the chief offender’s) tab. They won’t mind.”

“OK, just checking. Sounds good. Cheers!” Geithner might have said.

In addition to the phone calls, Timmy and the Fed took other swift action…a year later. The drafted a letter, passed along to the Brits, outlining 6 ways to fix the problem – 5 of which should have been, “arrest the skeevy thieves.”

But it wasn’t all milk and cookies. Geithner viciously clamped down on the situation by making a few phone calls and promptly letting the whole thing quietly bubble while the Brits did their part by doing nothing. That really showed those bankers who was in charge – unfortunately, it turned out to be them. Several months after the letter, a Barclays employee still called the LIBOR rates “absolute rubbish”, showing that the international finance community works like a well-snake oiled machine.

Today, the scandal still unfolds – largely out of sight of anyone who doesn’t read the Financial Times or the society column in the Wall St. Journal.  Fines have been promised – possibly even unprecedented fines – that will be a tiny sliver of the amount stolen. Someone may even be threatened with prison before getting a big bonus and severance package equal to, or greater than the fines. After all, justice is blind, even if she does peek out from under the blindfold from time to time…for a fee. For his part, Timmy is just playing in the well until Lassie comes like Lassie always does.

This time, let’s just cage Lassie and let Timmy sink or swim.

Cross posted at The Omnipotent Poobah Speaks! More than politics, more than pop culture & humor

A trillion here, a trillion there and pretty soon you’re talking about big money – big money like the half a quadrillion dollars Barclays Bank manipulated by illegally fixing interest rates effecting mortgages and loans around the globe. That makes Jamie Dimon’s JPMorgan losses – originally at $2 million, now $9 million and counting – look like some lost change from the shoebox at a lemonade stand.

Maybe Dimon was right to take his king-sized bonus. Compared to Barclays’ malfeasance, he did do a significantly better job by only frittering away $9 million of someone else’s money.

A series of emails, reminiscent of the tone of the snarky market-gaming energy traders at Enron, reveals how the Barclays faked reports to the British Bankers’ Association which, in turn, helped diddle the London Interbank Office Rate (LIBOR) – the rate of interbank loans – for fun and profit or loss. Of course like most bankers, the Barclays Boys made money either way.

Your Name in Golden Letters

The content of the emails shows the callous attitude the bankers had about screwing the world economy.

“As always, any help wd be greatly appreciated,” one trader wrote about fudging the 3-month LIBOR.

“I am going 90 altho 91 is what I should be posting,” another trader replied.

“When I retire and write a book about this business your name will be written in golden letters,” the first trader said.

“I would prefer this not be in any book!” came the answer.

Yeah, I’ll bet.

Break Out the Good Stuff

Even more craven was this exchange offering a drink for a “little” help.

“Duuuude. whats up with ur guys 34.5 3m fix . tell him to get it up!” a trader asked his colleague at another bank.

“If it comes in unchanged I’m a dead man,” he said, but promised the trader he’d “have a chat.”

When Barclays’ rate came in lower the trader sent a thank-you note: “Dude. I owe you big time! Come over one day after work and I’m opening a bottle of Bollinger.”

Damned expensive bottle of bubbly, but the punishments handed out so far are laughable. British courts have wrist-slapped Barclays with fines totaling $453 million. That would be $453 million against shenanigans of half a quadrillion. Boy that’s showing them.

Of course, British authorities are still investigating and may file criminal charges later. Authorities are also looking into Switzerland’s UBS, Britain’s HSBC, the Royal Bank of Scotland, and so the Americans don’t lose face in the criminal world … U.S. grifters Citibank and Bank of America.

Crack Open Another Bottle and Gather the Muskets!

If prior cases are any indication, fines will be light to non-existent and criminals will be lucky to escape with a 5% cut in their yearly bonuses.

Clearly bankers have still not learned the lesson that playing 3-card Monte with the world economy is a bad, bad thing. And unrestricted corporatists haven’t learned the lesson that business is no more trustworthy than government when it comes to not acting like Genghis Khan in the world financial markets. Their behavior is beyond shocking, beyond immoral, beyond … beyond … well, I don’t think English even has a word to describe these crapweasels on ‘roids.

If dipshits can advocate armed insurrection against the U.S. government over health care for people who can’t afford it – many of whom are poor from the thorough screwing asshats like these doled out – perhaps armed insurrection against the international banking cabal is in order too.

Crack another bottle of Bollinger and gather up the muskets!

Cross posted at The Omnipotent Poobah Speaks! More than politics, more than pop culture & humor