22 Mar 2012

TBTF Sheriff Bill Black on the MF Global Cover-up: "All those that doeth Evil hateth the light!"

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas says Dodd-Frank did not end too big to fail, and says we must downsize the TBTF monsters in the view of Richard Fisher. This, as some US lawmakers are working to push back the timeline for a key part of Dodd-Frank, the Volcker Rule...a rule regulators and banks already appear to be hollowing out.
We'll look at what the costs of these actions could be


Meanwhile, the "Corzine Rule" is reportedly gaining momentum -- this would restrict what brokerage firms can do with customer money. Before looking forward -- what about the unanswered questions and accountability in the MF Global bankruptcy and what we consider theft of customer money? We'll talk to William K. Black, the former regulator who oversaw prosecutions of bankers for fraud during the S&L crisis to find out what it would take to see justice in this case. We will discuss some of the peculiarities surrounding the MF Global bankruptcy, the decision by CFTC chairman Gary Gensler to proceed with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy as per the SEC, with a SIPA/SIPC liquidation for the brokerage unit, which put the customers on even footing with the creditors, instead of a Chapter 7 bankruptcy for the entire company. We ask Bill Black if this is an example of control fraud and regulatory capture, and where a crime has been committed here.


Meanwhile, do you think we have enough lawyers in the US already? Well, you may be happy to hear this...the organization behind the law school admissions test -- the LSATS -- saw the largest decline in people taking the test in more than a decade. Is "the law" in a bear market? Demetri think so. He says the bear market in the legal system is the corollary for the bull market in whistle blowing. Otherwise, you wouldn't need monetary incentives beyond what is already in place to get lawyers to prosecute crimes. Whistle blowers make it easy for the prosecution.