Liberals rejoice, financial sector weeps: With her election to the Senate, Warren became one of the most powerful people in the country; now, she’s headed to one of the most powerful committees in the Senate. Financial regulation is Warren’s specialty; she helped oversee the distribution of TARP funds in 2009 and essentially created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. We can’t imagine the bank lobby wanted her on this committee, but then again, there’s probably not much they could have done to prevent it. (Photo: AP) source
![Warren to nab powerful committee seat? According to several Senate sources, Senator-elect and populist hero Elizabeth Warren has a good chance of getting a seat on the powerful Senate Banking Committee. This is a logical fit for Warren, architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and would give her great power in her efforts to curb deceptive and unscrupulous practices on the part of financial institutions. “[G]iven her prominent work on those issues, she would certainly have a very good shot” at getting a spot on the committee, an aide tells Reuters. Having Warren on Banking is essentially the Republicans’ worst nightmare, but it’s worth noting that it’s a nightmare entirely of their own short-sited construction. source](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_md8mpzSxGQ1qas8z9o1_500.jpg)
Warren to nab powerful committee seat? According to several Senate sources, Senator-elect and populist hero Elizabeth Warren has a good chance of getting a seat on the powerful Senate Banking Committee. This is a logical fit for Warren, architect of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and would give her great power in her efforts to curb deceptive and unscrupulous practices on the part of financial institutions. “[G]iven her prominent work on those issues, she would certainly have a very good shot” at getting a spot on the committee, an aide tells Reuters. Having Warren on Banking is essentially the Republicans’ worst nightmare, but it’s worth noting that it’s a nightmare entirely of their own short-sited construction. source
$2.43 bil. the cost of a legal settlement between Bank of America and shareholders source
This time the piper pays: A group of shareholders and investors alleged that Bank of America misled them in 2008 regarding the institutional health of Merrill Lynch, prior to its acquisition by BofA, hiding huge losses mounting on the floundering bank’s record. This is the largest class-action settlement to emerge from the financial crisis, and there’s a reason if companies seem so eager to settle – doing so can limit further action that might be taken by attorneys general, in this case New York AG Eric Schneiderman.
As fears of a Greek exit from the Euro zone grow, investors across the country withdrew hundreds of millions of Euros from Greek banks on Monday and Tuesday. As thousands of customers closed accounts, or transferred to euro-friendly banks in neighboring countries like Cyrus, analysts began to fear that a “bank run” was on the horizon. Bank runs take place when large groups of customers withdraw their holdings from banking institutions, fearing that the bank will soon be insolvent. As more people withdraw from the bank, the likelihood of insolvency increases, further increasing the number of customers who withdraw. Essentially, closure transforms from a possibility to self-fulfilling prophecy.
» Attempting to calm “bank run” fears: President Karolos Papoulias announced the staggering total during a speech before heads of Greece’s Panhellenic Socialist party. Papoulias admitted that analysts estimated similarly high withdrawals on Tuesday, but assured party members that there was no need to fear a “bank run”. Analysts seem to agree for now, with Mediobanca analyst Alex Tsirigotis telling Reuters, “We have witnessed periods of tension before when the banks experienced large outflows. In my view, the majority of people with these concerns would have done so by now.” (Photo via dullhunk)
» In other words … If you take out the charge, their profits were nearly $5.5 billion this quarter. This total beat the street’s estimate by a wide margin — a reported profit of 31 cents per share, versus what investors thought would be a profit of 12 cents per share. As a result, the stock made a fairly big leap this morning, surging 6 percent in pre-market trading.
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» Citigroup CEO Vikram S. Pandit’s upcoming compensation package, along with the compensation packages of other executives, was voted down by a majority of shareholders during an investors meeting in Dallas. While the vote was nonbinding, meaning the bank doesn’t actually have to act according to the shareholders’ wishes, the bank says it will not ignore its investors. “Citi’s board of directors takes the shareholder vote seriously,” said spokesman Jon Diat, adding, ” [We’ll] consult with representative shareholders to understand their concerns.”
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A big company with big problems: Reuters is reporting that HSBC is facing some tough allegations in the Senate, with the company reportedly getting investigated for its role in sketchy money-laundering practices. Reuters reports that while the scale of the investigation isn’t known, signs point to breakdowns in the company’s anti-money-laundering systems. In response to the Senate allegations, the company’s spokesman responded: ”We have ongoing discussions with officials on a number of regulatory and compliance matters. The nature of these discussions is confidential; in all cases, we are cooperating.” Read more at the link. (awesome, incredibly fitting photo by Flickr user Will Survive) source
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Today in gaining support: The “Robin Hood tax” on financial transactions to big banks. Take from the rich and give to the poor. Think it’s a good idea? Think it’d actually prove beneficial?
At last count, Steven Katz owed $80,000 on his six credit cards, and he has no intention of paying any of it off. In fact, he’d like to show you how to be like him—a “credit terrorist” in open revolt against the banking system. Debtorboards.com (“Sue Your Creditor and Win!”), a five-year-old online forum where he’s collected countless tricks and tactics for evading and repelling persistent creditors. He’s written how-tos on shielding your assets from seizure, luring collection agencies into expensive lawsuits, and frustrating private investigators looking for debtors on the run. He’s even infiltrated the bill collectors’ forums, where he’s been tagged a “credit jihadist” and his site’s been called a “credit terrorist training camp,” a label he embraces. “Debtorboards is one of the biggest and most successful temper tantrums ever,” the 59-year-old Katz boasts. The site has more than 10,000 members—double what it had in 2009.50 Ways to Leave Your Banker: What Happened When One Man Just Refused to Pay $80,000 in Credit Card Debt | Occupy Wall Street | AlterNet (via alternet-working)
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