GAO Finds Serious Conflicts at the Fed

[Hissyspit]

Source: Office of Sen. Bernie Sanders

GAO Finds Serious Conflicts at the Fed

October 19, 2011
WASHINGTON, Oct. 19 -
A new audit of the Federal Reserve released today detailed widespread conflicts of interest involving directors of its regional banks.

"The most powerful entity in the United States is riddled with conflicts of interest," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said after reviewing the Government Accountability Office report. The study required by a Sanders Amendment to last year's Wall Street reform law examined Fed practices never before subjected to such independent, expert scrutiny.

The GAO detailed instance after instance of top executives of corporations and financial institutions using their influence as Federal Reserve directors to financially benefit their firms, and, in at least one instance, themselves.  "Clearly it is unacceptable for so few people to wield so much unchecked power," Sanders said. "Not only do they run the banks, they run the institutions that regulate the banks."

Sanders said he will work with leading economists to develop legislation to restructure the Fed and bar the banking industry from picking Fed directors. "This is exactly the kind of outrageous behavior by the big banks and Wall Street that is infuriating so many Americans," Sanders said.

Read more: http://sanders.senate.gov/newsroom/news/?id=70c40aba-736c-4716-97d1-45f1a1af10a0

[ixion]

1. Yeah, file this one under "Gee, no kidding"

...like it took a GAO audit to discover there was a conflict of interest at the Fed... and in the Treasury, and in the government.

[Pacifist Patriot]

2. Yeah, I almost keeled over from the shock.

[SkyDaddy7]

3. He is correct...Restructure the FED do not end it!

"Sanders said he will work with leading economists to develop legislation to restructure the Fed and bar the banking industry from picking Fed directors."

[Hydra]

8. There's no reason we should have the Fed

Congress can take back their authority to create currency as needed and we can go back to being a solvent and productive nation again.

Or we can keep doing the same silly thing for another 80 years and let the bankers run things.

[SkyDaddy7]

11. My fear with that is...

If that were the case now the Republicans would already succeeded in creating a depression. They NEVER had a problem with the FED until it was working to improve the economy under Obama. I am not an expert in financial matters but I do know there are times when the FED needs to act quickly...Even in good economic times.

I think we need responsible oversight from congress but still enough room for the FED to operate as free as possible from politics. We have to have a flexible currency in a global market or we will get eaten alive. If Sen. Sanders is still in favor of keeping the FED then I trust him as well.

[No Elephants]

13. Remind me how the Federal Reserve is free from politics now?

http://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/frseries/frseri.htm

[Hydra]

15. The problem is that the Fed currently ISN'T fixing anything

They're shoveling money at their cronies, who are using it to buy up politicians.

Kucinich put forward a proposal to take the currency rights back from them, and with that we can pay social security or anything else we want to with it.

But you do bring up a pitfall- there's no enthusiasm among the Repubs, Blue dogs and the WH to help the public...but getting the Fed out of the way would still be a big step in the right direction.

[Tansy_Gold]

4. Cue Claude Rains

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5E3CSizTNQ

[Roland99]

5. nice!

[Tansy_Gold]

7. That one and the rubber stamp are gonna get a workout

in the next few weeks, I'm thinkin'.


:hi:



TG

[Lindsay]

6. Good to have it confirmed in writing.

It's not just us paranoid hippies who think something's wrong.

[UpInArms]

9. So didn't Obama appoint Immelt to some position .... oh yeah, that's right - the head of the jobs

council!

http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/ge-ceo-jeffrey-immelt-the-head-of-obamas-jobs-council-is-moving-jobs-and-economic-infrastructure-to-china-at-a-blistering-pace

and from the OP link:

Jeffrey Immelt The Federal Reserve Bank of New York consulted with General Electric on the creation of the Commercial Paper Funding Facility. The Fed later provided $16 billion in financing for GE under the emergency lending program while Immelt, GE's CEO, served as a director on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

[No Elephants]

12. Yeah, I always get that confused with appointing the Rethug head of the NY Fed--

you know, NY, where all the 2008 crisis stuff went down?--as Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and re-appointing Rethug Fed Head Bernanke.

I am easy to confuse. For example, in 2008, I thought I'd voted for a Democratic administration.

[UpInArms]

18. I find that, as time goes on, I seem to

agree with you on more occasions

:toast:

[Hotler]

10. k&r n/t

[No Elephants]

14. I hope Sanders works with people like Reich.

[chill_wind]

16. K & R. Geithner, too, gets his advice from the same special interests

more than a few, too, associated with the financial crisis.

US Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee
SIFMA committee of financial executives advising US Treasury

Paul Tudor Jones II hedge fund manager
member
Stephen A Walsh Deputy Chief Investment Officer of Western Asset from 2000 to 2008...
member
Stephen Rodosky Managing Director PIMCO
member
Jason Cummins Managing Director Brevan Howard
member
Thomas Llewellyn Kalaris Chief Executive of Barclays Wealth
member (past)
Ruth Porat Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President at Morgan Stanley
member
Mark Werner CEO of Pierpont Securities
Member
Irene Tse chief investment officer at JPMorgan
Member
Richard Tang
Member
Curtis Arledge Vice Chairman, CEO, Asset Mgmt. BNY Mellon One Wall Street New York...
member
Jeffrey S Phlegar President of Alliance Bernstein
Member
Walter J Muller III CIO at Bank of America
Member
Dana Emery EVP at Dodge & Cox
Member
Fred Brettschneider
Member
Ian G Banwell CEO and CIO of Round Table IMC
Member
Paul McCulley managing director at PIMCO
Member (past)
Richard A Axilrod Managing Director at Moore Capital Management
Member
Keith Anderson Chief Investment Officer, Soros Fund Management
Member
Scott Amero CIO of Fixed Income at Blackrock
Member
Ashok Varadhan Managing Director at Goldman Sachs; Vice Chair of the US Treasury...
Vice Chairman
Matthew E Zames Managing Director at JPMorgan; Chairman of the US Treasury...
Chairman
Gary D Cohn President and COO of Goldman Sachs
Member (past)

http://littlesis.org/org/46044/US_Treasury_Borrowing_Advisory_Committee/leadership/page/2

[Uncle Joe]

17. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Hissyspit.