ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER BANK AND ANOTHER BILLION DOLLAR FINE

Authorities have uncovered another bent bank and issued another — cha-ching! — billion dollar fine.

Yesterday, Swiss bank UBS got slammed with a $1.5 billion fine after key personnel sang to authorities, admitting to fraud and bribery, in the ever deepening Libor scandal.

This past summer, for its involvement in the Libor scandal, Barclays got popped for about $350 million big ones.

Another large fine, unrelated to the Libor scandal, was issued last week when the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Corporation (HSBC) was hammered for a record $1.9 billion for laundering drug money.

Back at UBS, it turns out dozens of staff were involved in manipulating the Libor rate, the global benchmark for interests rates, while working closely and quietly with staff from other banks. The scandal, which likely includes involvement by Treasury Secretary and confirmed tax-cheat Tim Geithner, is so massive it has required an international investigation.

The Libor scandal is estimated to involve some 20 major banks and some $350 trillion (that’s with a “T”) in derivatives, so we probably have a long, long way to go.

Interestingly, there have been mumblings for about a year now that the banksters that literally destroyed Europe and America have pushed too far and the world is now pushing back. Are the recent fines and lawsuits part of the financial clean up America and Europe so desperately need?

Let us hope so.

My only question is, when are we going to see these cash-counting criminals doing a perp walk on their way to jail? Clearly, if a wrong-doing is serious enough for a billion dollar fine, then it is serious enough for someone to sit in the slammer.

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