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The Hombre Syndrome

from the Wall Street Journal Look Who’s Getting That Bank Settlement Cash – [1]Tens of millions of dollars disguised as ‘consumer relief’ are going to liberal political groups. [1]  by Andy Koenig

The most recent came in April when the Justice Department announced [2] a $5.1 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs [3]. In February Morgan Stanley [4] agreed to a $3.2 billion settlement [5]. Previous targets were Citigroup [6] ($7 billion), J.P. Morgan Chase [7] ($13 billion), and Bank of America [8], which in 2014 reached the largest civil settlement [9] in American history at $16.65 billion. Smaller deals with other banks have also been announced.

Combined, the banks must divert well over $11 billion into “consumer relief,” which is supposed to benefit homeowners harmed during the Great Recession. Yet it is unknown how much, if any, of the banks’ settlement money will find its way to individual homeowners. Instead, a substantial portion is allocated to private, nonprofit organizations drawn from a federally approved list. Some groups on the list—Catholic Charities, for instance—are relatively nonpolitical. Others—La Raza, the National Urban League, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and more—are anything but.

This is a handout to the administration’s allies. Many of these groups engage in voter registration, community organizing and lobbying on liberal policy priorities at every level of government. They also provide grants to other liberal groups not eligible for payouts under the settlements. Thanks to the Obama administration, and the fungibility of money, the settlements’ beneficiaries can now devote hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars to these activities.

HKO

Big banking forced to support these organizations leaves fascinating conflicts.  Regulations stifle startup competition that would not have to pay such nonsense. There must be a name for the dependence on those you hate. I call it the Hombre Syndrome from the movie starring Paul Newman. [10]

In such a deal both parties sell their soul. And ultimately both parties lose.

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