Wall Street is kept in mind when designing the financial reform bill on Obama’s desk. The idea is to keep the recession of the last few years from happening again, and to not have to bail out any more banks. So now we wonder who was really helped. The public is the one funding it, so we should know who it was receiving our dollars.
Much of the bailout given to Wall Street
707 banks were a part of TARP, or the Troubled Asset Relief Program, reports CNN Money. $ 40 billion was split between 690 of them. The average for those 690 banks is $ 57,971, 014.49 apiece. The government has been paid back by 13 of the 17 institutions that got the majority of the bailout given to them. Profitability is shown by the, according to Market Watch, $ 4.8 billion reported in profit by JP Morgan chase within the second quarter.
Main street left struggling
The same CNN article also highlighted that only $ 15 billion of the $ 40 billion lent to small and medium banks participating in the Capital Purchase Program, or CPP. Large banks were saved by the bailout when they tried to get around to all the main street banks also. Debts for those who received CPP loans have only been paid by 10 percent so far. At least one payment was missed by 15 percent of banks that nevertheless owe CPP loans.
Feed the wolves to conserve the sheep
Wall Street is still right in the middle of the 2008 financial crash. The financial reform bill that just passed is testament to the call for them to run things more responsibly, and with the $ 550 million fine just slapped on Goldman Sachs from the SEC, it seems that more stringent standards may become the norm. However, what happens if Main street banks go under? Will it cost us $ 700 billion to watch our money as we pick from a list of small institutions?
More details about this topic at these websites
CNN Money on TARP
money.cnn.com/2010/07/14/news/economy/Main_Street_banks_TARP/index.htm
CNN on Goldman
money.cnn.com/2010/07/15/news/companies/SEC_goldman/index.htm
Market Watch
marketwatch.com/story/jpmorgan-chase-reports-second-quarter-2010-net-income-of-48-billion-or-109-per-share-on-revenue1-of-256-billion-2010-07-15?reflink=MW_news_stmp
