David Sirota: Too Big to Punish

[marmar]

by David Sirota


A few months ago, in a press conference about the felony conviction of Credit Suisse, Attorney General Eric Holder said, "This case shows that no financial institution, no matter its size or global reach, is above the law."

Yet, earlier this month, the Obama administration announced its proposal to waive some of the possible sanctions against Credit Suisse. The little-noticed waiver, which was outlined in the Federal Register, comes amid criticism that the Obama administration has gone too easy on major financial institutions that break the law.

In its announcement outlining the waiver, the Department of Labor notes that Credit Suisse "operated an illegal cross-border banking business that knowingly and willfully aided and assisted thousands of U.S. clients in opening and maintaining undeclared accounts" and in "using sham entities" to hide money.

Under existing Department of Labor rules, the conviction could prevent Credit Suisse from being designated a Qualified Professional Asset Manager. That designation exempts firms from other federal laws, giving them the special status required to do business with many pension funds. The Obama administration's is proposing to waive those anti-criminal sanctions against Credit Suisse, thereby allowing Credit Suisse to get the QPAM designation needed to continue its pension business. ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.creators.com/liberal/david-sirota/too-big-to-punish.html

[woo me with science]

1. Too big to punish: The administration is now waiving sanctions against Credit Suisse.

What the administration did not mention, of course, is that according to data compiled by the Sunlight Foundation, employees of Credit Suisse have given President Obama’s campaigns more than $376,000. That’s particularly relevant in light of an April study of SEC data from London Business School professor Maria M. Correia. That analysis showed that “politically connected firms are on average less likely to be involved in … enforcement action and face lower penalties if they are prosecuted.”

Missed this before. Thank you for posting it.