d5c0ddb2   
   XPost: soc.culture.europe, soc.culture.greek   
   From: nana@na.ca   
      
   On 5/9/10 12:34 PM, ADR wrote:   
   > On May 9, 7:29 am, Marco  wrote:   
   >   
   >>> And, Agamemnon, my angry young man, I do not think that the world is   
   >>> going back to barter!!   
   >>   
   >> The banks are not evil, they are part of the structure of our society,   
   >> like the governments.   
   >   
   > No, they are quite unlikely the governments.  First and foremost,   
   > banking is now quite interconnected and banks are mostly multinatonal   
   > and supranational entities.  The corner bank in your neighborhood may   
   > have strong connections to a Wall Street bank and it may pursue   
   > policies that neither you nor the government have ever approved.   
      
   That is patently false. Banks operate according to strict rules in every   
   jurisdiction notwithstanding their international connections. Your local   
   bank is subject to policies of the jurisdiction it is located in, unless   
   you have proof that banks that have investments and/or holdings in other   
   countries, operate by their rules.   
      
   In the US, liberal policies of entitlement entrenched laws that made it   
   easy for first time home owners and/or homeowners who could not afford   
   the payments, to purchase a home by either using an irregular   
   amortization formula by which interest rates were low in the first years   
   and skyrocketed in subsequent years.   
   The banks would then dress these into retail products that were sold the   
   world over and were rated by agencies such as S&P as legitimate. It is   
   said that these changed so many hands, that for every mortgage dollar,   
   there were bets of 10$. You do the math.   
      
      
      
      And   
   > the leadership of the banks is not elected nor is it answerable to the   
   > public.  They are only answerable to their stockholders.   
      
   The bull crap is *again* flying today from your direction.   
   Do not believe this moron, he's completely *clueless*. I can't believe   
   you just said that banks can operate any way they want without any   
   regard to rules and regulations.   
   In the US, bank regulation is very onerous because of state *and*   
   federal laws. In fact, the US has one of the most highly regulated   
   banking and financial sectors in the world. Other countries, where it   
   matters, also have very stringent rules.   
      
   Can you just not say anything when you feel the need to run from the   
   mouth and misinform everybody?   
      
      
      
      Thus, the   
   > banks take decisions in accordance with the interests of their   
   > stockholders (to maximize their equity) irrespective of the concerns   
   > of the society overall.  So, in September 2008, when the banks decided   
   > that the risk was "not quantifiable" or "unnecessarily high", they   
   > stopped lending.   
      
   What does this have to do with regulation? This has more to do with the   
   market condition prevailing at the time.   
   Banks are free to lend, borrow and do whatever they please, as long as   
   it's done in a lawful manner.   
      
   It is also within their prerogative to cease lending operations when   
   they deem that the probability of delinquency in their loans increases.   
      
      
      The credit crunch and the "great recession"   
   > followed.  Thus, the banks acted in their interest and not the   
   > interest of the public.  In fact, because of their power, they   
   > essentially strong-armed governments to "minimize the risk" (aka   
   > bailout).   
      
   Nobody strong armed anybody. It was deemed that in order to avoid a   
   general depression-like meltdown of the every sector of the economy, it   
   was far more advisable to lubricate inter-institutional credit by   
   offering lower interest rates to lending institutions from the Fed.   
   These rates are even lower than what we know as prime and this kick   
   started inter-banking loans and the rest is history.   
   These bailouts were essentially loans that are being paid back, as we   
   speak, at an accelerated pace, not only by banks, but by auto manufacturers.   
      
      
      
   >   
   > Thus, any organization that has the main aim of maximizing stockholder   
   > equity is not and will never be like any elected government.   
      
   Nobody expects them to be o clueless one. They are, however required to   
   operate withing strict legal parameters and not according to their own   
   rules as you stated because of the effect of financial globalization.   
      
   Clueless, clueless, clueless *again*.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)