So it appears that JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon has got some ‘splainin to do before the Senate Banking Committee today. Greek elections lie ahead and the stampede away from Spanish and Italian banks is set to explode any moment. The running of the bulls indeed. Wall Street is coming to resemble Pamplona – and not in a good way. Main Street USA is also facing its own share of bovine fecal matter in the form of the swap contracts JP Morgan and the rest sold them. Again, this bit of risky business has cost taxpayers billions of dollars. This should at least pique Senators curiosity. Alas , there is nothing like a well-placed contribution to put the damper on natural curiosity. And JP Morgan is a major contributor to Senate Banking Chair Tim Johnson success.
American bankers have benefited from vast amounts of taxpayer assistance. Not just TARP, but super cheap Federal Reserve financing, Fed, Freddie, and Fannie purchases of mortgage-backed securities, and deposit guarantees as well as tax concessions granted by the Treasury in the wake of the 2008 disaster. For the banks to keep mulcting the people who bailed them out is unconscionable.- KBOO