$8.5 Billion Settlement but No Fraud, Right? They Must Think We’re Stupid.

They must think we’re stupid.

News that Bank of America is poised to pay an $8.5 billion settlement in a claim by investors that the firm and a predecessor sold packages of loans/securities which did not meet standards and provide proper disclosures is a joke. Regrettably the joke is on us, that is, the citizens of this great land.

$8.5 billion may be a lot of money but what price warrants real justice?

I believe very strongly that real justice is never bought in terms of a mere financial settlement. Real justice does not come with the face of Benjamin Franklin. Dare I say, Ben and the boys would be retching right about now learning of the practices within the financial system and the “supposed” justice dispensed in the form of this settlement.

Where is the admission of fraud in the settlement?

We are supposed to believe that a firm can make an $8.5 BILLION settlement but there was no fraud? Are you kidding me?

We are supposed to believe that this settlement can serve as a precedent for other financial institutions to cut similar deals?

These institutions can borrow funds from the Federal Reserve at 0% and leverage those funds so who really pays this settlement? The American taxpayer in the form of a wealth redistribution into the financial system.

Settlement? Real justice? Bulls&$t!!

For those in the crowd who may think we need to move forward, put this mess in the rear view mirror, and try to heal our economy, I assure you the real price of justice neglected and justice denied comes in the form of capital flight.

Why is it that trading volumes in so many market segments are declining precipitously? For the very simple reason that when capital is not protected and real justice is not dispensed then investors will take their capital elsewhere.

Again, $8.5 billion may be a lot of money but let me assure those in Washington and on Wall Street that real justice can not be bought. Real truth and total integrity are NEVER for sale in the court of public opinion.

Those virtues are embraced only in the form of total accountability and transparency. Regrettably we witness little of these prized virtues in the canyons on Wall Street and the halls on Capitol Hill.

When will Wall Street and Washington wake up and realize that while many in our nation may be easily duped, the American public as a whole is NOT stupid.

Larry Doyle

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I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.

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