Category: Banks & Finance

Politicians will be forced to face brutal reality of mortgage crisis

For months before the publication of the Keane Report into the mortgage crisis we heard Minister for Finance and other politicians dodge questions by saying:

We have to wait until the Keane Report is published; then we will take immediate action.

Predictably, these promises were just the usual political lies.

Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, has just launched the next phase of delay and waffle.

The adoption of many of the proposed reforms will have to wait until legislative changes to the personal insolvency laws come into force next year.

In normal circumstances such dishonest behaviour by politicians can be stretched out to years, even decades.

Time, however, is almost up for such dishonesty because the mortgage crisis is coming to a head and politicians are going to be forced, whether they like it or not, to deal with brutal reality – it will not be a pretty sight.

The banks are not (really) owned by the state

We’ve heard a lot of tough talk recently from the so called Financial Regulator, Matthew Elderfield, and various ministers warning banks not to increase mortgage rates and to reduce rates in line with the ECB reductions.

Well, we can see from the two fingered response of NIB and other banks to the latest ECB rate reduction that all the government tough talk is nothing but hot air.

The Government can do nothing to force the banks to comply with their wishes, the banks can and will continue to screw their customers with complete impunity.

Many people are puzzled that while most of the banks belong to the state (the people) the government seems powerless to tell them what to do.

In reality, of course, the banks are not owned by the state.

They are in ‘pretend’ ownership until all the billions recklessly gambled, robbed and wasted by the banks is either paid immediately by current taxpayers or set aside to be paid for by generations of taxpayers to come.

As soon as the time is right, the banks will be handed back to the greedy criminals and the corrupt roundabout will continue to turn.

What are these people on?

Finance Minister, Michael Noonan, has said that Ireland’s main strategy was to grow its way out of trouble – Good luck with that Mr. Noonan.

He also labours under the same delusion as Lucinda Creighton, that Ireland is different from Greece.

Greece, says Mr. Noonan, will be in trouble for many years while Ireland will be ‘back to normal’ in a year or two.

Meanwhile, IMF chief economist, Oliver Blanchard, has been tragically infected with Brian Lenihan’s ‘we’ve turned a corner disease’.

Speaking to students at Trinity College today he said Ireland was doing great and would soon be out of trouble.

I have just one question – What are these people on?

Rabbitte defends the bankers

The Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte has been doing a great job recently defending the interests of the banking sector.

The interdepartmental group that produced the Keane Report on the mortgage crisis was made up of two bankers, 16 civil servants and Keane himself was seconded from KPMG

Marian Finucane commented that it was remarkable that organisations like MABS or Legal Aid weren’t involved in the report.

Rabbitte replied in his number one condescending voice:

No it isn’t Marian, no it isn’t and I’m one of the most stringent critics of the reckless behaviour of bankers.

You cannot address this issue without having bankers present in terms of the ramifications for the banking system.

In other words – I’m not answering the question.

Someone else challenged him on the fact that bankers were still paying themselves vast amounts of money.

Again, in his Sunday best condescending voice, Rabbitte patiently tried to explain things to the great unwashed.

Let’s not get carried away now, let’s not get carried away, I mean that’s not true. The bankers pay has been cut dramatically…

Look it, we’ve been landed in this mess, we have to have to try and deal with the unfortunate people in acute distress about losing their homes.

In other words, stop talking about greedy bankers; after all I’m supposed to be a left wing, for the ordinary people politician.

Prediction of economic disaster

Just came across this letter that I submitted to the Irish Times on 20th Oct 2004 in response to the then latest scam by AIB.

Madam,

Mr. Buckley of AIB is wide of the mark in likening the current scandal to an iceberg where the vast amount of transactions are genuine but unseen by the general public while the relatively ‘small number of errors’ are emphasized by the media. (RTE News, 20th Oct.).

The stark reality is that AIB is a rogue iceberg rampaging unregulated across the sea that is the Irish economy. The ship of state, captained by a government that steadfastly refuses to heed the many warnings of impending disaster, is steaming full speed ahead on a collision course with this rogue iceberg.

When the inevitable happens, the international economic reputation of Ireland will plunge headlong into the icy depths of global contempt.

Yours etc.,

Anthony Sheridan

Nothing will change until the corrupt political system is destroyed

A caller to today’s Liveline provides us with a good example of the ruthlessness and greed of the banking sector.

The caller, an elderly lady, used her entire life savings to pay €100,000 off her son’s mortgage when he found himself in deep trouble.

The bank, the EBS, must have been rubbing its hands in glee as this part of the mortgage was on a tracker contract and so its payment would save the bank a substantial amount of money.

The woman then asked the EBS to come to an agreement for the rest of the mortgage (€50,000) which was on a fixed contract.

Not a chance lady, if you want to pay this part of the mortgage off we will impose a substantial penalty.

It’s the law she was told, it’s policy she was told.

You do us a favour, we screw you.

The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, took time our from her busy schedule organising a no holds barred crackdown on alleged social welfare fraudsters to gently ask the banks to go a bit easy on the increasingly desperate peasants.

I actually would like to see the banks becoming active in reaching out to the citizens who have become embroiled in debt because of the recession, losing their job, losing their business.

The critical thing, said the Minister, is that people should engage with their lender.

We can see from the above example what happens to people when they ‘engage’ with their ruthless lenders.

Fergus Finlay has a good article in today’s Irish Examiner on the mortgage crisis in which he brings up the subject of revolution.

In my opinion the big picture is very simple.

The corrupt political system allowed the banks and others destroy our country.

The corrupt political system continues to protect the banks and others who destroyed our country.

Nothing will change until the people destroy the corrupt political system.

Bankrupt Anglo investigates 'Fingers' Fingleton's watch

Alan Dukes was on the radio over the weekend explaining to the Irish people how he and his bank are determined to get that watch back from ‘Fingers’ Fingleton.

It doesn’t get more bizarre than this.

Dukes is a strong defender of the rotten political system that allowed bankers and developers to bankrupt the country.

He’s a strong defender of Anglo Irish Bank, the institution that played a major role in the destruction of the country.

Countless billions down the drain, countless lives ruined; the country in receivership and this moron and his bankrupt bank are investigating a watch.

The watch cost about €20,000 including tax and, according to Dukes, this is a very substantial amount of money.

If €20,000 is a very substantial amount of money how, I wonder, would he describe the €34 billion that Anglo Irish Bank has cost the taxpayer?

Anglo’s chief executive, Mike Aynsley, wrote to ‘Fingers’ asking him to please return the watch and the €1million bonus he received on retirement.

Aynsley (hilariously) warned that the bank wouldn’t be infinitely patient, as if there was anything he could do if ‘Fingers’ decides to hold onto the watch and the loot.

Mad professors and Brian Lenihan corners

David Vines, Professor of economics at Oxford university, was on Today with Pat Kenny expanding on his article published in the Financial Times and Irish Times.

According to the good professor all is just fine and dandy in Ireland.

He accused the rating agencies of lazy thinking and being asleep at the wheel.

He accused listeners who criticised him as people who stand back and let things go wrong around them.

He describes as extraordinary the great expansion in Ireland in the late 90s and early 2000s.

He seems to be completely ignorant of the fact that that ‘great expansion’ was nothing more than a mafia pyramid scheme set up and operated by a cartel of politicians, bankers and developers none of whom have been brought to account.

He believes that Ireland will continue to expand and grow becoming ever more competitive despite the ongoing global crisis and, according to the professor, the Irish banking crisis is over.

I stand with admiration at the sorting out that was done in the recapitalisation of the banks in March/April.

I must have been out buying my cornflakes when that happened.

The professor’s article and interviews caused a wave of insane optimism throughout the ‘we’ve turned a corner’ morons in the political and banking sectors.

But the professor revealed his total ignorance of what’s really going on in our glorious banana republic when he was asked:

And are we over the worst of the banking debacle?

I’m not someone who has as close knowledge as others about Irish banks but it’s my belief from what I know that it’s now soldiering on now that that very important separating of the good and the bad happened in March/April.

Oh, right. He’s not aware that the Irish banking system is rotten to the core, that the Irish financial sector in general is infested with ruthless vermin who are facilitated and supported by a so called regulatory system set up by a deeply corrupt political system.

He’s unaware of the fact that not a single banking institution or official has ever been prosecuted for the countless thefts and frauds carried out over decades against defenceless Irish citizens.

So, just another Brian Lenihan corner then.

New white-collar crime legislation

Legislation aimed at strengthening Garda powers when investigating white-collar crime and legally protecting those who turn whistleblower comes into operation today.

Key provisions in the new laws seek to bolster the hand of gardaí when a witness is unwilling to attend Garda interviews or supply information like financial records. Such uncooperative behaviour can seriously hamper or derail the progress of an investigation (Irish Times).

This new legislation is obviously in response to the current investigation into Anglo Irish Bank and other financial institutions.

My first reaction?

Stand by for an announcement from an apparently disappointed minister telling us that, unfortunately, the new law cannot be applied retrospectively.