Consumer advocates have complained that U.S. mortgage lenders are getting off easy in a deal to settle charges that they wrongfully foreclosed on many homeowners.
Now it turns out the deal is even sweeter for the lenders than it appears: Taxpayers will subsidize them for the money they’re ponying up.
The Internal Revenue Service regards the lenders’ compensation to homeowners as a cost incurred in the course of doing business. Result: It’s fully tax-deductible.
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So what they are saying is CRIME DOES PAY…the way I see it is the Federal Reserve is the IRS…if that is the case..of course they would give the banks whatever…as long as they can screw the people..
Penalties for crimes are not a cost of doing business. The banks are writing these settlements to make it appear that these are mistakes and not crimes. Question: Why can’t the regulators see that forgery and perjury to facilitate theft of people’s homes are crimes? If not that, then how about laundering drug money and violating the Trading with the Enemy Act as was recently demonstrated as to HSBC? Answer: They do, but they are too afraid of the market consequences of holding financial criminals responsible for their crimes. It should be noted that employees of the IRS, the FBI, the USDOJ, and the federal judges (from bankruptcy, to district, to circuit and perhaps the Supreme Court) all receive federal pensions heavily dependent on the performance of bank stocks and mortgage backed securities. It is distressing to think that self-interest in a retirement plan would trump responsible law enforcement and effect judicial decisions, but it is either that or a “group think” that the banks must be protected at all costs, or both. The FDL article exposes the lie that the unproductive sector must be preserved at the cost of the productive sector and it is good that people are starting to ask why a sector of the economy which builds, creates and produces nothing but debt servitude for the productive sector is being rewarded for crimes. Insider trading is so obvious in the purchases of bank stocks by executives who had secret and undisclosed knowledge of the back door bailouts at the Fed that an average high school sophomore could effectively prosecute those cases.
Whatever happened to the concept of “Clean Hands”? With all these settlements, the latest with the OCC, it clearly says to the Banks that yes we know you lied and committed fraud but because WE want this to be over, we’re going to slap your wrists charge you a fine (that they all write off) and then you can go into courts, not have to address your fraud and/or illegal activity and take the home of some idiot, like me, who played by the rules and actually believed that someone out there would care. Welcome to America!!