When JPMorgan Chase sheepishly announced last week that it had taken a $2 billion loss on risky derivatives trading, it underlined the fact that nearly four years after a crisis that nearly toppled the global financial system, we still haven't done nearly enough to make sure it can't happen again.
“JPMorgan is one of the best-managed banks there is," President Obama declared on ABC's The View, in footage that aired Monday evening. "Jamie Dimon, the head of it, is one of the smartest bankers we've got, and they still lost $2 billion ... This is why we passed Wall Street reform.”
But has Wall Street reform solved the problem? "There's nothing to stop Jamie Dimon and JPMorgan Chase from going right back down the same road and doing this all over again tomorrow," Ed Schultz noted on The Ed Show Monday night. "Because it's perfectly legal."
Wasn't the financial reform legislation of 2010 -- better known as the Dodd-Frank law -- supposed to end this kind of hazardous trading?
Bart Chilton, Commodity Futures Trading Commission explained on The Ed Show that the problem is that many of the law's specific regulations haven't yet been drawn up -- a task that falls to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other regulatory agencies.
"We need to put the meat on the bones of Dodd-Frank," Chilton said. "They passed the law two years ago, but two thirds of the regulations aren't even in place. Regulators didn't even have a view of what it was. That needs to change."
Chilton outlined one of the most important provisions in Dodd-Frank that he said regulators should be focusing on -- the Volcker Rule, which bans banks from making bets with their own money. He said that until that rule is fully drafted and enforced, banks will continue to be able to place massive, risky bets with their customers' money - just as they did in the lead-up to the financial crisis -- without breaking the law.
"Right now," said Chilton, "there's a troublesome duplexity within the banking system. They've got their own interest -- their bottom line -- and their customers'. We know who's always gonna win out."
Of course, not everyone thinks we need to monitor the financial industry more closely. Asked in a recent interview whether the JPMorgan debacle means we need more or less financial regulation, Reince Priebus, the chair of the Republican National Committee replied: "I think we need less."
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Why haven't we heard from John Boehner,Paul Ryan,Eric Cantor and Mitch the turtle McConnell,about this screw up,Its because they are once again playing with Tax Payers money for that matter where is the Tea Party or better the Turd Party.They came into existence because of Wall Street Bail Outs,but instead nothing,silence. Why they want to lay the blame on the President showing how truly uninformed and simple minded they are.They would rather see this Country slide into the abyss,then except that they've been so Partisan that Apathy and Ignorance on their parts has allowed the Devil to rule their righteous pious ass decisions,how utterly bombastic and foolish can you be.
Well remember it was the GOP who came up with the bright ideal that banks didn't need regulation. What is rather telling is they never learned their lesson when Reagan deregulated the S&L's. Typical really those who fail to learn from the past are doomed to repeat the past.
Elizabeth on "THE VIEW" came loaded with bear about this very subject this morning. Ready to take him down a notch.....but Obama gently put her in her place. He was prepared and she had no argument. It was nice to see her have try and melt out of sight.
I feel like we are watching Groundhog Day again. Remember the Enron scandal? Then California was in debt to there eyeballs. Are we getting ready to relive it all again? The American people were taken to the cleaners. Huge amounts of money made for CEO of the banks and company's and Wall Street. Enron was the tip of the ice berg and no one saw it till we were sinking many below water and have never recovered. Watch for the housing market and if it begins to fall we know this is no coincidence but a very well orchestrated plan to fleece America again. Have we learned our lesson ? How could we when NO ONE but Bernie Madoff was ever charged? Petition for Glass Ste-gal to be reenacted. But this time they fall to the ground NO BAIL OUTS FOR BANKS!!!!
You people obviously are oblivious to the fact that because of that crazy Dodd-Frank regulation that was put in place to prevent things from happening, Obama had dozens of federal employees working at JPMorgan Chase to ensure this kind of thing wouldn't happen and guess what, they missed it as well....so if the bankers are idiots so are the federal employees who couldn't sniff out a dead skunk if they tried.
Wrong. Your buddies in the house and senate watered it down so much it did have a chance of working. Just like every other bill that would help average Americans.
Funny how they keep ignoring those facts and go right into foaming at the mouth fake outrage at everyone except those who did it.
And your solution is to just have everyone step out of the way and let Obama and the Democrats do exactly what they want.
Sorry Larry but some of us don't want Generalissimo Obama and the federal government to decide what's in our "best interests" for us. There are still people out there that don't trust the federal government to do anything right.
This mantra that "anyone who doesn't vote for Obama is voting against their best interests" is pure unadulterated liberal BS. You'll willingly put your faith in the government blindly and trust that Obama or any political entity in Washington cares about you...
Yeah, I know.. he said it in a speech and you got goosebumps from it so it must be true.
No thanks. I'll take my gun and my liberty and you can keep the change.
You're a fool if you think you can trust Romney and the Republicans to make good on their small government promises. We've been told those same things before. GW claimed he wanted that what did we get patriot act, one of nefarious peices of legislation which has only lead to further executive powers from declaring you not citizen when they want allowing them to kill you anytime they want, or detain for as long as they want for whatever reasons they want.
A bipartisan excerise liberty destroying policy
Republicans and democrats, mostly republicans in this Dodd frank instance, to try to keep out regulations that we have seen work. Dodd frank was intended to be a glass steagal like reform and the GOP fought against not out of substance out of politics you know that.
A vote for Mitt Romney is indeed a potential vote against your own interests because no one knows what Mitt cares about other than winning this office. He might good and he might be bad you really can never tell with Romney. This elections is not about choices it will about honesty and likability because at the core these two candidates are very much the same to suggest anything else is pure politics you know that too.
Lets be sure that neither party or the tea party is actually libertarian leaning. Small government makes a cute little bumper sticker but very few actually want that.
Why are Mitt fans on this site?
I don't trust Romney one bit. You're confusing my dislike of Obama as an endorsement for Romney and nothing could be further from the truth.
A lot of people want that, but Obama and Romney certainly do not. I've said it before, Romney and Obama are cut from the same cloth.
Sorry folks Dodd/Frank was never allowed to fix anything because they let the lobbyists and cronnies water it down
Have you noticed Dodd is gone, couldn't run again...got caught taking a bribe. And Frank is on his way out. More money in lobbying.
Rufus-6-rufus you are wrong about Dodd-Frank 2/3rds of the legislation has not been implemented yet. I would like to see how you'd feel if the practices that lead to the first financial crisis return and the taxpayers once again on the hook for the loses. Remember?
exactly gloria because this problem was caused by too much regulation.....we totally need to can the rest of the 1/3 of Dodd/Frank and go back to what we had in 2007-2009 cause those lovely years for the american economy.....
we need to resurrect glass steagal that the congress decided to kill after all those years you know those decades where gigantic downturns didn't happen. Those we're okay times. Enron should have bee a warning. All these potentially predatory loasn people those were happening it wasn't a secret, should been a warning. Gamblimg with houses on the commidities market with little ccapital requirements should have been a warning.
The most astounding part of all that is the far right righties still refuse to aknowledge regulation is needed for the financial sector. I don't reall that being akin to stalinism when it was happening cause well...it worked.
I am not wrong...while not all of Dodd Frank is in place, the piece that is in place are the federal onsite investigators who were present during this whole thing and didn't see it happening...you don't check the facts, you just listen to what Ed says.
I think CynicalCitizen is looking for "Fox News". Can someone redirected him or her?
It's called sarcasm perhaps you've heard of it.
I think that Senator Sanders is right, we need to break up these big banks and separate them, the regular banks we use to hold out savings and write our checks on need to be separate from these corporate investment type institutions, and the credit card systems need to be controlled better too, and not have all that debt linked to the regular banks and our savings and retirement accounts. The cost of everything needs to put back to real levels not at these hyper inflated levels, with price/cost increases each year, that will settle down the real value of our currency and lower the debt too. Greed to the sin that is killing our nation, and all of these bankers and investment types in the markets are all the sinners that need to repent their sins and sin no more. You don't need an increase in profits every year you were making millions to start with, why not just be happy with that you bunch of greedy bastards. You expect us to be happy with our minimum wages and over priced goods and services without an increase in wages to cover the increase in costs. So let's just cut the cost of living by 50% right now, and leave the minimum wage where it is, and cut corporate salaries by 50% too, then things will get better.
NObama in 2012...yes we can do better!
Helllo.. Nice Info Thanks yaaa