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> Holding bankers accountable would not "hurt the industry." Does losing money hurt an industry? Can overregulation hurt an industry? > SEC lawyers generally

by Uhhrrr 11y ago

> Holding bankers accountable would not "hurt the industry." Does losing money hurt an industry? Can overregulation hurt an industry? > SEC lawyers generally don't go to banks--they go into private practice law firms. Those firms make money when banks get in trouble. Yes, they make money from banks when banks get in trouble.

rayiner 11y ago
We are talking about enforcement here. Putting bankers in jail instead of imposing a large fine on the corporation saves the banks money. > Yes, they make money from banks when banks get in trouble. Sure, but in an environment of weak enforcement where banks never get into trouble, there isn't any money to make.
- enraged_camel 11y ago
  >>We are talking about enforcement here. Putting bankers in jail instead of imposing a large fine on the corporation saves the banks money. Maybe you live in a different reality, but in ours, the massive reputation hit the bank would suffer from having its employees go to jail would be tremendously more costly than meager fines that they can just shrug off.
  - rayiner 11y ago
    Sure, but it's a zero sum game. The change in reputation of one bank won't affect the overall demand for banking services. From the point of view of the regulator trying to snag a private sector job, it doesn't matter. The same amount of banking business will continue to be done--if Bank A takes a hit Bank B will have more work and more jobs.
    - Uhhrrr 11y ago
      Consider that the OP is about Abacus, a financial product created by Goldman Sachs at the request of a speculator. If more exotic products like that are tainted by evidence of systemic corruption and the possibility of having to spend time in court, then customers may well choose to park their money in boring stock or bond index funds, which give the banks a much smaller cut. So it's not a zero sum game.

by Uhhrrr 11y ago

rayiner 11y ago

We are talking about enforcement here. Putting bankers in jail instead of imposing a large fine on the corporation saves the banks money. > Yes, they make money from banks when banks get in trouble. Sure, but in an environment of weak enforcement where banks never get into trouble, there isn't any money to make.

enraged_camel 11y ago
>>We are talking about enforcement here. Putting bankers in jail instead of imposing a large fine on the corporation saves the banks money. Maybe you live in a different reality, but in ours, the massive reputation hit the bank would suffer from having its employees go to jail would be tremendously more costly than meager fines that they can just shrug off.
- rayiner 11y ago
  Sure, but it's a zero sum game. The change in reputation of one bank won't affect the overall demand for banking services. From the point of view of the regulator trying to snag a private sector job, it doesn't matter. The same amount of banking business will continue to be done--if Bank A takes a hit Bank B will have more work and more jobs.
  - Uhhrrr 11y ago
    Consider that the OP is about Abacus, a financial product created by Goldman Sachs at the request of a speculator. If more exotic products like that are tainted by evidence of systemic corruption and the possibility of having to spend time in court, then customers may well choose to park their money in boring stock or bond index funds, which give the banks a much smaller cut. So it's not a zero sum game.