Blowin’ in the Wind
“How many times can a man turn his head
And pretend that he just doesn't see?”
Peter, Paul and Mary ~ “Blowin' in the Wind”
"Equal Justice Under Law" is a societal ideal that has guided the American judicial system since our founding. But within the American financial services system this ideal, this phrase, which is engraved on our Supreme Court Building, has been undermined by size and wealth. “Too Big To Prosecute” and “Too Big To Jail” are more apt phrases - at least when it comes to holding the mega financial firms like Wells Fargo accountable.
Much of the current distrust of our nation's banking system and the public cynicism toward our regulatory authorities stem from the fact that not one single CEO or even the second or third ranking executives of the so called "Too Big To Fail" (TBTF) financial firms was ever prosecuted much less charged with any kind of wrongdoing. What do you think spawned movements like “Occupy Wall Street”?
How many times does Wells Fargo have to break the law and violate banking regulations before real consequences are imposed? The laws and regulations that Wells Fargo has violated over the past decade are too numerous to count. Yet the CEO, top executives, and the Board have faced no personal consequences. And like the most recent fines, the numerous monetary penalties levied against Wells Fargo amount to nothing more than a slap on the hand in relation to the firm’s balance sheet. We must demand a regulatory and judicial system that will punish wrong doers no matter their societal perch or the size of their institution.
The public knows that crimes were knowingly committed, and yet the CEOs and senior executives who committed these crimes were allowed to "retire" with enormous multi-million dollar bonuses and severance packages in their pockets. All the while, community banks and bankers were and still are severely punished for what are relatively minor offenses compared to many of the outrageous actions of the mega financial firms.
"Equal Justice Under Law" indeed. More like the kind of justice you find in south American dictatorships or third world countries run by "strong men". If you are a mega bank CEO and your firm is big enough and rich enough, “Equal Justice Under Law” has a much different meaning for you than it does for the ordinary community banker.
Former Attorney General Holder openly admitted this fact in public testimony to the Senate. In plain language he admitted that the Department of Justice does hesitate to bring the top executives of the largest financial institutions to account because their institutions are so large and powerful. And to hold one of these executives accountable could destabilize the nation’s entire economy. Basically, he said that these institutions have become so large and powerful that they are too big to prosecute and so are their executives.
So regulatory authorities default to the smaller community banks by making examples out of them and their executives for far less offenses. No wonder the public is so jaded and cynical. The general public is not stupid. They see this unequal treatment before their eyes. Why is the Main Street bank CEO prosecuted, but not the Wall Street CEO or senior executive? “Unequal Justice Under Law” seems to be the apt phrase here.
"Equal Justice Under Law" has been the cornerstone upon which we differentiated ourselves from nearly every other nation on earth for most of our nation’s history. Now it seems we are just like everyone else - if you are a top executive of a mega institution, you are safe from the consequences of your actions, no matter how many thousands of lives you and your institution have ruined – so says the United States Attorney General.
And what or who is going to change this sorry state of affairs? “The answer, my friend, is blowin’ in the wind; the answer is blowin’ in the wind.”