undergroundrr
10-19-2011, 08:56 AM
Shocked to see this on ABC online. The grand slam wrap-up at the end ties together Ron Paul, the Fed and OWS.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/federal-reserve-board-rife-with-conflict-of-interest-gao-report/
Federal Reserve Board Rife With Conflict of Interest, GAO Report
Several financial firms and corporations reaped monetary benefits from their executives’ close ties to the Federal Reserve, and the makeup of its board of directors poses a major conflict of interest, according to a new report released today by the Government Accountability Office.
In one case, the Federal Reserve consulted with General Electric on the creation of a commercial paper funding facility and then provided $16 billion in financing to the company while its chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, served as a director on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Immelt is now President Obama’s “jobs czar.”
JP Morgan Chase also benefited from its chief executive Jamie Dimon’s position on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to the GAO. The bank received emergency loans from the Federal Reserve at the same time it served as the clearinghouse for the Fed’s emergency lending program.
Dimon, who remains on the board, also managed to get the Federal Reserve to give his bank an 18-month exemption from risk-based leverage and capital requirements in 2008, the same year that the Fed gave JP Morgan Chase $29 billion to acquire Bear Stearns, according to the GAO.
Many of the Fed’s own executives own stock in companies that are regulated by the agency, and the Fed is not required to disclose its waivers. At the end of 2008, Goldman Sachs received permission from the Fed to become a bank holding company and get cheap access to loans from the Fed while Stephen Friedman, then chairman of the New York Federal Reserve’s board of directors, owned shares in Goldman Sachs and sat on its board of directors. The Fed gave Friedman a waiver from its conflict of interest rules but did not publicly disclose it.
Even the current makeup of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s board of directors is especially corporate-heavy. It includes executives such as James Tisch, chief executive of Lowe’s, and Terry Lundgren, chairman of Macy’s.
The report comes as the Occupy Wall Street movement rallying against Wall Street and corporate greed is gaining momentum. Some politicians, such 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, are also raising calls to end the Federal Reserve or scale back its role.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/federal-reserve-board-rife-with-conflict-of-interest-gao-report/
Federal Reserve Board Rife With Conflict of Interest, GAO Report
Several financial firms and corporations reaped monetary benefits from their executives’ close ties to the Federal Reserve, and the makeup of its board of directors poses a major conflict of interest, according to a new report released today by the Government Accountability Office.
In one case, the Federal Reserve consulted with General Electric on the creation of a commercial paper funding facility and then provided $16 billion in financing to the company while its chief executive, Jeffrey Immelt, served as a director on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Immelt is now President Obama’s “jobs czar.”
JP Morgan Chase also benefited from its chief executive Jamie Dimon’s position on the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to the GAO. The bank received emergency loans from the Federal Reserve at the same time it served as the clearinghouse for the Fed’s emergency lending program.
Dimon, who remains on the board, also managed to get the Federal Reserve to give his bank an 18-month exemption from risk-based leverage and capital requirements in 2008, the same year that the Fed gave JP Morgan Chase $29 billion to acquire Bear Stearns, according to the GAO.
Many of the Fed’s own executives own stock in companies that are regulated by the agency, and the Fed is not required to disclose its waivers. At the end of 2008, Goldman Sachs received permission from the Fed to become a bank holding company and get cheap access to loans from the Fed while Stephen Friedman, then chairman of the New York Federal Reserve’s board of directors, owned shares in Goldman Sachs and sat on its board of directors. The Fed gave Friedman a waiver from its conflict of interest rules but did not publicly disclose it.
Even the current makeup of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s board of directors is especially corporate-heavy. It includes executives such as James Tisch, chief executive of Lowe’s, and Terry Lundgren, chairman of Macy’s.
The report comes as the Occupy Wall Street movement rallying against Wall Street and corporate greed is gaining momentum. Some politicians, such 2012 Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, are also raising calls to end the Federal Reserve or scale back its role.