Admittedly my opinion, but I think that the predicament of the auto companies is mostly due to poor decisions that made the difference between small profits and

Admittedly my opinion, but I think that the predicament of the auto companies is mostly due to poor decisions that made the difference between small profits and massive losses. The losses at the I-banks are just pure unadulterated greed. Additionally there are costs to compliance, and those are probably going to be greater at car companies (that have factories, dealers, financing divisions, etc, etc). The car companies have tighter margins and more costs to meet compliance. Banks move numbers around, not physical objects - their compliance could, and should, cost less.