Bank Don't Commit Crimes - Bankers Do

[Corey Dutton]

This was one critic’s response to the recent announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that it is about to ink a settlement with Bank of America regarding allegations that the bank misrepresented the quality of the mortgage-backed securities it sold to investors. At a staggering $16.7 billion, this is the largest settlement ever paid in U.S. history by a company to U.S. regulators. But this has raised the pending question among critics as to why executives of the bank are not being held accountable, and further, that these individuals should be facing criminal charges. Dennis Kelleher, president of the nonprofit ‘Better Markets,’ was quoted as saying, “We do not know the name of a single individual involved and not a single individual is held accountable. Banks don't commit crimes, bankers do."

Other critics say that only $5 billion of the settlement amount that B of A is set to pay is NOT tax deductible. In other words, B of A is just going to write off the settlement and move on. It’s no surprise then that the response of investors to the pending settlement was that the bank’s stock rose 4.1% last week.

Posted by Corey Curwick Dutton