Don-n-ABQ

The Future of Citigroup and AIG

Maybe sports athletes who take steroids should get paid more than other players?

Maybe crack whores should be put in charge of the nearest Walgreen's or CVS?

Maybe Bernard Madoff should be put in charge of CitiGroup and Jeffrey Skilling AIG?

Get the point?

How can we keep giving money to someone who can't manage the money he already had?

With that logic all pyromaniacs should be given flamethrowers and be put in charge of the fire department and we should set up all homicidal psychotics with gun stores and make them sheriff.

When are we going to step back and value: CHARACTER?

Why don't we take the financial institutions like (or what is left):
AIG
Bear Stearns
CitiGroup
Countrywide Financial
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
Lehman Brothers
Merrill Lynch
Wachovia
Washington Mutual
etc.

And, take the worst portion (20%?, 30%?, 40%?) of what is left and nationalize that into 2009 Federal Assets Bank.

Then with the rest give it the bankers who have actually done a good job. Banks like:
1) United Ban of Alabama
2) First Financial (Indiana)
3) Citizens Holdings Co.
4) Arrow Financial
5) First of Long Island
6) Republic Bancorp
7) First Financial Bankshares
8) Glacier Bancorp
9) Financial Group
10) Bank of Hawaii Corp.

We give the good bankers the good deposits and good loans, and reward them for not buying into this derivative credit default swap leverage game.

Then, we take a page from China, and send the executives from the first list of banks (the bad ones) to prison and take away ALL (REPEAT ALL!) of their assets (where ever they may be, overseas, Cayman's, Switzerland, etc).

The 2009 Federal Assets Bank is run by a committee of the good bankers for a period of 10 years, in 2019, and if anything is left it is sold in an IPO and the proceeds go to pay for the bailout.

What is the difference between what Bernard Madoff did and what:
Angelo Mozilo
Joe Cassano
Dick Fuld
Frank Raines
Marion and Herb Sandler
Stan O'Neal
Lew Ranieri
Fred Goodwin
Sandy Weill
Jimmy Cayne
Kerry Killinger
Chuck Prince
Franklin Raines
etc., did?

I think what the latter group did may have actually been worse. I would have never invested with a Bernie Madoff, but I did make WaMu my largest investment.

When I first bought WaMu in 1992, Killinger was a genius. Expanding the thrift from a northwest regional into the nations largest. But, he obviously got lazy, sloppy, and greedy (as did I for not pulling my money out).

I trusted this man to be honest and above reproach with my money. Now, it is wiped out. One-fourth of my retirement funds.

So, it all goes back to CHARACTER.

Who is going to watch the watchers?

Let us say that President Obama does pass tighter regulations to watch the new CitiGroup and AIG.

But then one of the top executives at CitiGroup takes the person who is in charge of watching the bank to the Turks and Caicos Islands and Abu Dhabi.

And, a year later the watchdog resigns his post, with the government, and takes the new vice-president of Caribbean Operations position at CitiGroup.

The big problem I am having is I can't trust the top 30 executives of the top 30 banks (900). All of them seem to be corruptible these days.

Where is John Adams and Harry S. Truman? Where are the guys with honor?

I am afraid that we have not sunk low enough yet to bring out the integrity and virtue that we need going forward.

I would trust Warren Buffett with the job, but he already has a better one.

Until we as a society, nation, and as individuals, start placing a much higher premium on honor and character the dog will continue to chase it's tail.

If I wanted to invest in CitiGroup I would be the damn worthless stock myself!

I would NOT take my own money (what is left of it; or yours) and buy CitiGroup at $1.50 a share, why should the federal government do it for me?

The fox is in the hen house the and dog that is chasing it's tail (instead of chasing the fox) has fleas. And the fleas our the "former" Wall Street guys like Hank Paulson, Tim Geithner, Larry Summers, etc., etc. (The guys that leave Wall Street and move to government should be BANNED from going back later on and from communications with their old friends should be monitored.)