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Non-Tech : Banks--- Betting on the recovery -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: tejek who wrote (660)	9/5/2009 1:09:19 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 1428

They way I perceive it right now is that the only thing the banks seems to be good at is taking depositor money and investing it in Government debt. And for this these guys are reaping high 7 to 8 digit salaries. That's just BS, considering their "productivity" is based upon the US taxpayer. Furthermore, I blame a lot of this sub-prime BS on the big banks and Ratings Agencies. They knew they had ready sources of foreign capital, but they sacrificed proper lending practices in order to collect origination and trading fees. In fact, I keep most of my liquid cash in a credit union because I still don't trust the big money center banks. So suffice it to say I'm not very inclined to have sympathy for their plight. But, that said, I do understand the concept of "too big to fail". And I understand that something has to be done to bring them under control and keep them from self-enriching behaviors. I see no reason that these bankers are making as much money as they are, yet plunging their companies into such reckless activities that put depositor money at risk. Japanese banks are quite sizable but they don't pay nearly the kind of salaries that US and UK banks pay: The gap is huge, as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group can attest. Japan's biggest bank by market capitalization, paid a total of $8.1 million for 14 top executives in the fiscal year ended March 31, according to a regulatory filing. online.wsj.com guardian.co.uk I'm not versed on the issue of how we can legally regulate bank salaries sufficiently to have an informed opinion, but it's like pornography.. Hard to describe, but I know it when I see it. And we certainly have sufficient evidence to hold these big bankers to account for the policies. Know nothing about the upcome Citi dilution.. But would be interested to learn more. Btw, I feel the same way about the excessive prices of healthcare. I think there's a tremendous amount of waste and lack of competition in the industry. The system is obviously broken, but putting the government in charge isn't the solution. Hawk