Merrill Lynch traders helped blow up their own firm

[....lybob]

Two years before the financial crisis hit, Merrill Lynch confronted a serious problem. No one, not even the bank's own traders, wanted to buy the supposedly safe portions of the mortgage-backed securities Merrill was creating.

Bank executives came up with a fix that had short-term benefits and long-term consequences. They formed a new group within Merrill, which took on the bank's money-losing securities. But how to get the group to accept deals that were otherwise unprofitable? They paid them. The division creating the securities passed portions of their bonuses to the new group, according to two former Merrill executives with detailed knowledge of the arrangement

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[birdog1960]

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i played Monopoly over Christmas on my 12 yo niece's new digital banking version of the game (very cool btw- each player has a credit card). the players, besides the kids, included adults that have achieved success in several fields including a hedge fund manager (who was 2nd out of the game).

 

we all commented on how the game reflected real life, especially in the way that "money comes to money". later on, i thought about the ever present threat of jail in a game ostensibly about finance. of course, a player can buy his way out in the game. your cited article makes me wonder if the game is still relevant in this regard. jail seems a far removed possibility to the scoundrels that currently inhabit certain financial businesses. it's disturbing, to say the least.

[....lybob]

i played Monopoly over Christmas on my 12 yo niece's new digital banking version of the game (very cool btw- each player has a credit card). the players, besides the kids, included adults that have achieved success in several fields including a hedge fund manager (who was 2nd out of the game).

 

we all commented on how the game reflected real life, especially in the way that "money comes to money". later on, i thought about the ever present threat of jail in a game ostensibly about finance. of course, a player can buy his way out in the game. your cited article makes me wonder if the game is still relevant in this regard. jail seems a far removed possibility to the scoundrels that currently inhabit certain financial businesses. it's disturbing, to say the least.

It's very hard to prove anything legally- you have to prove that they knew that the products were toxic- they have the great advantage of being both experts who deserve their immense pay and at the same time totally ignorant on the products they deal with.

[Nanker]

i played Monopoly over Christmas on my 12 yo niece's new digital banking version of the game (very cool btw- each player has a credit card). the players, besides the kids, included adults that have achieved success in several fields including a hedge fund manager (who was 2nd out of the game).

 

we all commented on how the game reflected real life, especially in the way that "money comes to money". later on, i thought about the ever present threat of jail in a game ostensibly about finance. of course, a player can buy his way out in the game. your cited article makes me wonder if the game is still relevant in this regard. jail seems a far removed possibility to the scoundrels that currently inhabit certain financial businesses. it's disturbing, to say the least.

 

You're advocating the return of debtor's prisons? Now that's progressive.

[birdog1960]

You're advocating the return of debtor's prisons? Now that's progressive.

most of the scumbags we're talking about never approach "debtor" status...there are way too many loopholes and legal protections for that. if you rob a bank with a gun, you will go to jail for a long time. if you rob it from the inside, ilke those mentioned in the article at merril, you get rich.