Over half of US banking assets held by 5 banks

By Al Lewis
Dow Jones Newswires

We have finally reached the point in our financial history where even bankers hate bankers.

Last week, the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas issued its 2011 annual report with a 34-page essay, “Why We Must End Too Big To Fail—Now.” The report stops short of calling our nation’s largest banks terrorists, but it does dub them “a clear and present danger to the U.S. economy.”

HOLY BAILOUT – Federal Reserve Now Backstopping $75 Trillion Of Bank Of America’s Derivatives Trades

By The Daily Bail

UPDATE – Chcek out regulator William Black’s blistering reaction to this story HERE.
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This story from Bloomberg just hit the wires this morning.  Bank of America is shifting derivatives in its Merrill investment banking unit to its depository arm, which has access to the Fed discount window and is protected by the FDIC.

This means that the investment bank’s European derivatives exposure is now backstopped by U.S. taxpayers.  Bank of America didn’t get regulatory approval to do this, they just did it at the request of frightened counterparties.  Now the Fed and the FDIC are fighting as to whether this was sound.  The Fed wants to “give relief” to the bank holding company, which is under heavy pressure.

This is a direct transfer of risk to the taxpayer done by the bank without approval by regulators and without public input.

What Libertarians and Progressives have in common

PressTV interview with Journalist and Blogger David DeGraw

Libertarians know and hate the Federal Reserve. They hate Goldman Sachs and J.P Morgan. But they are not willing to go to the poor people who are being forced to pay for the crimes of those people that they hate because it’s a union or because there may be some Democrats involved in it.  Libertarians and progressives can find common ground, but at this point still they are refusing to step back and concede a little bit to find it. They have to come together on campaign finance and lobbying and most importantly they can come together on breaking up the banks.

Judge Rakoff Nails JP Morgan

Michael Collins

Federal district court Judge Jed S.  Rakoff called off a J.P. Morgan deal in an order that revealed the inside track on how the financial giant does business. The ruling of January 28 prevents Morgan from selling or participating the $225 million loan it made to Cablevisión, owned in the majority by Grupo Televisa, one of Mexico’s largest telecommunications companies.  (Image)

Cablevisión used the loan to purchase a Empresas Bastel which operated a major fiber optic network throughout Mexico. While it was no secret that Morgan would sell the loan to other investors, Judge Rakoff found that Cablevisión, and its majority shareholder Televisa, had no intention of allowing it’s biggest competitor to control 90% of loan.

Cablevisión sued Morgan after it discovered that the firm had crafted a loan sales agreement that allowed the Morgan-selected investor, Banco Inbursa, S.A. (Inbursa), to gain virtually all of Cablevisión’s business secrets in return for purchasing the loan. Banco Inbursa is owned by Carlos Slim, the Mexican investor who also owns Telemex, Mexico’s largest telephone, fiber optic, and internet provider. The Slim companies are Cablevisión’s largest competitor for the very business the Morgan loan was used to purchase, a Mexican business and consumer fiber optic network.