crested-duck
26th July 2012, 19:55
Problem-Reaction-Solution- in action. This is where we are heading next in this game!--Rob :rain: Game Changer: Sandy Weill, the "Shatterer of Glass-Steagall," now wants to restore it.
July 26, 2012 • 8:20AM
In carefully-prepared remarks that immediately sent shock waves through the financial world and the halls of Congress, former Citigroup head Sanford Weill called Wednesday for the break-up of the biggest banks along the lines of the Glass-Steagall Act.
"What we should probably do is go and split up investment banking from banking, have banks be deposit-takers, have banks make commercial loans and real estate loans, have banks do something that's not going to risk the taxpayer dollars, that's not too big to fail," Weill told CNBC's "Squawk Box" program.
Within minutes, Weill's comments were picked up by other news outlets, who noted, as did the New York Times, that Weill had "essentially" called for a return to Glass-Steagall. The Times remarked that Weill's belated conversion to Glass-Steagall "was an admission rich with irony," noting that, "Among his most notable possessions was a huge wooden plaque bearing his portrait and a list of his accomplishments. One of them read simply, 'The Shatterer of Glass-Steagall.'"
In his CNBC interview, Weill argued that if the U.S. is to be the world's financial leader, the big banks will have to be broken up, which will, he said, make them much more profitable than they are at present. "The banking system is really very, very important," he declared. "I think that the problem that was created was created by too much concentration in investments in the banking system, way too much leverage, very little transparency with lots of off-balance-sheet things that didn't really count. And I think that a lot of those things have to change. But even after the problems, there is really no other country in the world be the leader of the world yet."
"So, it really falls on the United States to still be the leader. And if we are going to be the leader, we have to have a financial system that can help us be the leader, and that is not happening right now."
The investment banks must be spun off "completely" from the commercial banks, Weill insisted, saying that "they can invest their money as they like," but that, "They would be entities on their own, as they were 25 years [ago]."
Andrew Sorkin, one of those interviewing Weill, declared himself "speechless" from Weill's statements and exclaimed, "I'm blown away." Another interviewer asked Weill how long he had been thinking this through. "For a long time," Weill responded, explaining that "it is something I've been thinking about a lot over the last year, and I really wanted to get my thoughts together before I said anything."
And in a comment which will resonate with anyone who has followed Lyndon LaRouche's repeated requirements for a restoration of FDR's original Glass-Steagall, Weill declared that he thinks what needs to be done, "we can do in two or three pages."
See http://www.cnbc.com/id/48249789
July 26, 2012 • 8:20AM
In carefully-prepared remarks that immediately sent shock waves through the financial world and the halls of Congress, former Citigroup head Sanford Weill called Wednesday for the break-up of the biggest banks along the lines of the Glass-Steagall Act.
"What we should probably do is go and split up investment banking from banking, have banks be deposit-takers, have banks make commercial loans and real estate loans, have banks do something that's not going to risk the taxpayer dollars, that's not too big to fail," Weill told CNBC's "Squawk Box" program.
Within minutes, Weill's comments were picked up by other news outlets, who noted, as did the New York Times, that Weill had "essentially" called for a return to Glass-Steagall. The Times remarked that Weill's belated conversion to Glass-Steagall "was an admission rich with irony," noting that, "Among his most notable possessions was a huge wooden plaque bearing his portrait and a list of his accomplishments. One of them read simply, 'The Shatterer of Glass-Steagall.'"
In his CNBC interview, Weill argued that if the U.S. is to be the world's financial leader, the big banks will have to be broken up, which will, he said, make them much more profitable than they are at present. "The banking system is really very, very important," he declared. "I think that the problem that was created was created by too much concentration in investments in the banking system, way too much leverage, very little transparency with lots of off-balance-sheet things that didn't really count. And I think that a lot of those things have to change. But even after the problems, there is really no other country in the world be the leader of the world yet."
"So, it really falls on the United States to still be the leader. And if we are going to be the leader, we have to have a financial system that can help us be the leader, and that is not happening right now."
The investment banks must be spun off "completely" from the commercial banks, Weill insisted, saying that "they can invest their money as they like," but that, "They would be entities on their own, as they were 25 years [ago]."
Andrew Sorkin, one of those interviewing Weill, declared himself "speechless" from Weill's statements and exclaimed, "I'm blown away." Another interviewer asked Weill how long he had been thinking this through. "For a long time," Weill responded, explaining that "it is something I've been thinking about a lot over the last year, and I really wanted to get my thoughts together before I said anything."
And in a comment which will resonate with anyone who has followed Lyndon LaRouche's repeated requirements for a restoration of FDR's original Glass-Steagall, Weill declared that he thinks what needs to be done, "we can do in two or three pages."
See http://www.cnbc.com/id/48249789