With JPMorgan Under Spotlight, Growing Calls to Jail the Banksters

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http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2013/10/28-4



Bank executives facing prison time for illegal activity would be better sanction than fine, say Wall Street reform advocates

With JPMorgan Under Spotlight, Growing Calls to Jail the Banksters
- Andrea Germanos, staff writer
Published on Monday, October 28, 2013 by Common Dreams

While JPMorgan Chase's $13 billion settlement for its "shady practices that five years ago helped trigger the financial meltdown, including manipulating mortgages and sending millions of Americans into bankruptcy or foreclosure" has gained attention for its record amount, a number of banking reform advocates are saying real accountability will come when executives are prosecuted and sent to jail for illegal activity.

As Matt Taibbi writes in Rolling Stone,

(T)he key to this whole thing is that the punishment is just money, and not a crippling amount, and not from any individual's pocket, either. In fact, the deal that has just been completed between Chase and the state represents the end, or near the end, of a long process by which people who committed essentially the same crimes as Bernie Madoff will walk away without paying any individual penalty. (...)

(W]hile it is true that the federal government in this latest $13 billion settlement is ostensibly reserving the right to continue to pursue criminal charges, don't hold your breath. The arc of this story suggests that the whole purpose of this agreement has been to find the highest price Chase is willing to pay to a) stay in business b) keep employees out of jail.

In addition, financial analyst and Naked Capitalism founder Yves Smith pointed out on Democracy Now! on Monday that the actual amount of the money to be paid is "still in flux," but that "only $3 billion of that is actually going to be a fine."