FDIC: DODD-FRANK COULD HELP A LEHMAN BROTHERS RESOLUTION

The following excerpt comes from the FDIC web site and discusses how the Dodd-Frank Act could have theoretically made the Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. more orderly and less of a fiasco:

“FDIC Report Examines How an Orderly Resolution of Lehman Brothers Could Have Been Structured Under the Dodd-Frank Act

The FDIC on Monday released a report examining how the FDIC could have structured an orderly resolution of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. under the orderly liquidation authority of Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act had that law been in effect in advance of Lehman's failure.
The report concludes that the powers provided to the FDIC under the Dodd-Frank Act to act decisively to preserve asset value and structure a transaction to sell Lehman's valuable operations to interested buyers -- which are drawn from those long used by the FDIC in resolving failing banks -- could have promoted systemic stability while recovering substantially more for creditors than the bankruptcy proceedings -- and at no cost to taxpayers. The report estimates that given the substantial, though declining, equity and subordinated debt of Lehman in September 2008 and the power for the FDIC to implement a prompt structured sale while providing short-term liquidity to continue value-adding operations, general unsecured creditors could have recovered 97 cents on every $1 of claims, compared to the estimated 21 cents on claims estimated in the most recent bankruptcy plan of reorganization. While there remains no doubt that the orderly liquidation of Lehman would have been incredibly complex and difficult, report concludes that it would have been vastly superior for creditors and systemic stability in all respects to the bankruptcy process as it was applied.
FDIC Chairman Sheila C. Bair said, "This new report is an important step in ensuring that the public and market participants understand how the FDIC's new resolution authority for large systemic firms works. The powers to implement a FDIC liquidation of a systemic financial company during a future crisis give us the tools to end Too Big to Fail and eliminate future bailouts. Much work remains to be done, and we look forward to working with key stakeholders to ensure that this process is effective in achieving its goals. The Lehman failure provides an excellent model to contrast the tools available to the FDIC to effectuate an orderly resolution of a large financial institution against the process used in bankruptcy which, unlike our process, is not specifically designed to deal with the failure of a financial entity. I commend the professional staff for completing this comprehensive and rigorous analysis. It will add tremendous value to the public understanding of the FDIC's resolution process under Dodd-Frank."
Lehman's bankruptcy filing on September 15, 2008, was a signal event of the financial crisis. The disorderly and costly nature of the bankruptcy -- the largest financial bankruptcy in U.S. history -- contributed to the massive financial disruption of late 2008. The lengthy bankruptcy proceeding has allocated resources elsewhere that could have otherwise been used to pay creditors. Through February 2011, more than $1.2 billion in fees have been charged by attorneys and other professionals principally for administration of the debtor's estate.
The FDIC report concludes that Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act could have been used to resolve Lehman by effectuating a rapid, orderly and transparent sale of the company's assets. This sale would have been completed through a competitive bidding process and likely would have incorporated either loss-sharing to encourage higher bids or a form of good firm-bad firm structure in which some troubled assets would be left in the receivership for later disposition. Both approaches would have achieved a seamless transfer and continuity of valuable operations under the powers provided in the Dodd-Frank Act to the benefit of market stability and improved recoveries for creditors. As required by the Dodd-Frank Act, there would be no exposure to taxpayers for losses from Lehman's failure.
The powers provided under the Dodd-Frank Act are critical to these results. Among the critical powers highlighted in the report are the following:
Advance resolution planning: The resolution plans, or living wills, mandated under Title I of the Dodd-Frank Act would have required Lehman to analyze and take action to improve its resolvability and would have permitted the FDIC, working with its fellow regulators, to collect and analyze information for resolution planning purposes in advance of Lehman's impending failure.
Domestic and International Pre-planning: The Lehman resolution plan would have helped the FDIC and other domestic regulators better understand Lehman's business and how it could be resolved. This would have laid the groundwork for continuing development of improved Lehman-specific cross-border planning with foreign regulators to reduce impediments to crisis coordination.
Source of Liquidity: A vital element in preserving continuity of systemically important operations is the availability of funding for those operations. The FDIC could have provided liquidity necessary to fund Lehman's critical operations to promote stability and preserve valuable assets and operations pending the consummation of a sale. These funds are to be repaid from the receivership estate with the shareholders and creditors bearing any loss. By law, taxpayers will not bear any risk of loss.
Speed of Execution: The FDIC would conduct due diligence, identify potential acquirer and troubled assets, determine a transaction structure and conduct sealed bidding -- all before Lehman ever failed and was put into receivership under Title II. A suitable acquirer would be ready to complete the acquisition at the time of Lehman's failure. A critical element in quickly completing a transaction is the power, provided by the Dodd-Frank Act, to require contract parties to continue to perform under contracts with the failed financial company so long as the receiver continues to perform. This is particularly critical to avoid the lost value, as exemplified in the Lehman bankruptcy, when counterparties immediately terminate and net financial contracts and liquidate valuable collateral.
Flexible transactions: The FDIC's bidding structure would provide potential acquirers with the flexibility to bid on troubled assets (e.g., questionable real estate loans) or leave them behind in the receivership. Similarly, creditors could receive advance dividends (i.e., partial payment on their claims) to help move money back out into the market and further promote financial stability. Advance dividends would not be provided if they would expose the receivership to loss.
These powers would enable the FDIC to act to preserve the financial stability of the United States and to maximize value for creditors by preserving franchise value and by rapidly moving proceeds into creditors' hands.
The very availability of a comprehensive resolution system, which sets forth in advance the rules under which the government will act following the appointment of a receiver, could have helped to prevent a 'run on the bank' and the resulting financial instability.
The report was prepared using publically available information about the events leading up to and following the filing of the Lehman bankruptcy petition. The report was prepared by FDIC staff from the Division of Insurance and Research, Office of Complex Financial Institutions, and the Legal Division.

# # #
Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 7,760 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars – insured financial institutions fund its operations.”

Under Dodd-Frank the FDIC may have more powers to deal with failing institutions but, without a DOJ (Department of Justice) that is dedicated to find and prosecute fraudsters, the underlying problems will come back to haunt the financial future of us all.

SEC ALLEGES MORTGAGE SECURITIES FRAUD AND TARP SCAM

Many of the worldwide economic woes over the last decade are as a result of fantastical frauds perpetrated by many bankers and securities dealers in the United States. If the SEC is correct in its allegations, the following might be a prime example of just exactly what went on at many U.S. financial institutions over the past 10 years or more. Take a look at the following excerpt from the SEC web site for an understanding of this particular case.


“Washington, D.C., Feb. 24, 2011 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged the former treasurer of the one-time largest non-depository mortgage lender in the country with aiding and abetting a $1.5 billion securities fraud scheme and an attempt to scam the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

The SEC alleges that Desiree E. Brown, the former treasurer of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), helped enable the sale of more than $1.5 billion in fictitious and impaired mortgage loans and securities from TBW to Colonial Bank, and caused them to be falsely reported to the investing public as high-quality, liquid assets. Brown also helped cause Colonial Bank to misrepresent that it had satisfied a prerequisite necessary to qualify for TARP funds.
The SEC previously charged former TBW chairman and majority owner Lee B. Farkas in June 2010. Farkas also was arrested in June by criminal authorities. In a related action today, Brown pleaded guilty to criminal charges filed by the Department of Justice in the Eastern District of Virginia.
"Brown willingly participated with Farkas in a $1.5 billion fraud on Colonial Bank and its investors," said Lorin L. Reisner, Deputy Director of the SEC's Division of Enforcement. "Brown also aided efforts by Farkas to mislead Colonial Bank and its regulators regarding the bank's application for TARP funds."
According to the SEC's complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Brown and Farkas perpetrated the fraudulent scheme from March 2002 to August 2009, when Colonial Bank was seized by regulators and Colonial BancGroup and TBW both filed for bankruptcy. TBW was the largest customer of Colonial Bank's Mortgage Warehouse Lending Division (MWLD). Because TBW generally did not have sufficient capital to internally fund the mortgage loans it originated, it relied on financing arrangements primarily through Colonial Bank's MWLD to fund such mortgage loans.
The SEC alleges that when TBW began to experience liquidity problems and overdrew its then-limited warehouse line of credit with Colonial Bank by approximately $15 million each day, Brown and Farkas and an officer of Colonial Bank concealed the overdraws through a pattern of "kiting" in which certain debits were not entered until after credits due for the following day were entered. In order to conceal this initial fraudulent conduct, Brown, Farkas and the Colonial Bank officer created and submitted fictitious loan information to Colonial Bank and created fictitious mortgage-backed securities assembled from the fraudulent loans. By the end of 2007, the scheme consisted of approximately $500 million in fake residential mortgage loans and approximately $1 billion in severely impaired residential mortgage loans and securities. These fictitious and impaired loans were misrepresented as high-quality assets on Colonial BancGroup's financial statements.
The SEC alleges that in addition to causing Colonial BancGroup to misrepresent its assets, Brown assisted Farkas in causing BancGroup to misstate publicly that it had obtained commitments for a $300 million capital infusion that would qualify Colonial Bank for TARP funding. In fact, Farkas and Brown never secured financing or sufficient investors to fund the capital infusion. When BancGroup issued a press release announcing it had obtained preliminary approval to receive $550 million in TARP funds, its stock price jumped 54 percent - its largest one-day price increase since 1983. When BancGroup and TBW later mutually announced the termination of their stock purchase agreement and signaled the end of Colonial Bank's pursuit of TARP funds, BancGroup's stock declined 20 percent.
The SEC's complaint charges Brown with violations of the antifraud, reporting, books and records and internal controls provisions of the federal securities laws. Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, Brown consented to the entry of a judgment permanently enjoining her from violation of Rule 13b2-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and from aiding and abetting violations of Sections 10(b), 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A), 13(b)(2)(B) and 13(b)(5) of the Exchange Act and Rules 10b-5, 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11 and 13a-13 thereunder. The proposed preliminary settlement, under which the SEC's requests for financial penalties against Brown would remain pending, is subject to court approval.
The SEC acknowledges the assistance of the Fraud Section of the U.S. Department of Justice's Criminal Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the TARP, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's Office of the Inspector General, the Office of the Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, Civil Division. The SEC brought its enforcement action in coordination with these other members of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.
The SEC's investigation is continuing.”

The SEC may be able to get a small amount of money back from Wall Street Fraudsters. However, it is still unclear just how pervasive the fraud has been in the United States. The only thing that is known is that the financial consequences to Americans and others have been devastating in many cases.

MICHAEL MOORE E-MAIL ON CORPORATE TAXES

The following e-mail was sent out by film maker Michael Moore regarding corporate taxes. It is important to note that although avoiding income taxes is not corporate fraud however, the way in which tax loopholes are obtained from government legislatures might have something to do with bribery. Although prosecuting corporations and public officials in the United States is never done when powerful people are involved, perhaps it should be.


"This Tax Day, Make THEM Pay ...a letter about April 18th from Michael Moore

Friday, April 15th, 2011

Friends,

Do you wonder (like I do) what the tax accountants and executives are doing over at GE this weekend? Frantically rushing to fill out their IRS returns like the rest of us?

Hardly. They're taking the weekend off to throw themselves a big party and have a hearty laugh at all of us. It must really crack them up to see us like suckers scurrying around to make sure we report everything to Uncle Sam -- and even send him a check, if necessary.

The joke's on us, folks. GE and tons of other corporations will have a tax bill for 2010 of ZERO. GE had $14.2 billion in profits in 2010. Yet they will contribute NOTHING to the federal government while every last dime is soaked from us.

In the latest budget deal, our politicians could have tackled the deficit by stopping the flow of these ill-gotten billions to corporations. Instead they cut billions from "wasteful" programs that do "wasteful" things, like create new jobs, drive economic growth, and help the needy and our nation's children. It's Democracy in reverse and it sickens me.

GE spends $20 million a year to lobby Congress to throw themselves this party. But do you know what speaks louder than $20 million? 20 million votes! 20 million people, and more, standing together and taking to the streets. That starts now, with you.

This coming Monday, April 18th is Tax Day -- and that's the day when "we the people" will demand our country back from these corporations in events all across the country. You can find the nearest event to you here.

MoveOn members -- along with union, community, and environmental allies -- will gather outside the headquarters and local offices of the biggest corporate tax dodgers to deliver tax bills from the American people. And we'll demand that our leaders make these corporate deadbeats pay.

We're doing this because we don't buy into the Big Lie: that greedy teachers caused the crash on Wall Street! That the selfish firefighters sent millions of jobs overseas! That pregnant woman, infants, and children are sending us into deficit!

No, it was the big corporations that did this. It was the CEOs and the top 1% of the country. THEY brought on the mortgage crisis. THEY made off with trillions of dollars from our economy. THEY are systematically destroying the middle class. And THEY have bought and sold the very people elected to represent us!

On Monday, we will have something to say to Exxon, Chevron, and the big banks that crashed our economy and got billions in bailouts, like Citigroup and Bank of America, who pay little or no federal income tax. In fact, the IRS will likely give them a tax REBATE. If that doesn't boggle your mind then nothing will.

The Tax Day events are about sending this message: We are coming after you, we are stopping you and we are going to return the money, jobs, and homes you stole from the people. This is your tipping point, Corporate America. And I, for one, am glad it's going to happen this Monday.

If you've never been to an event like this before, this is the time. And don't go alone, because none of us can win this fight by ourselves. Plus, it's more fun and exciting to go along with friends and family to be part of real democracy in action -- not the store-bought kind Big Business gets on Capitol Hill.

I really hope you can make it. This is our chance, my friends. Take the time on Monday to make your voice heard. I can guarantee you I will. Please join me.

Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
MichaelMoore.com"

Mr. Moore seems to have some serious issues regarding large corporations that pay little if any income tax. As a shareholder in GE along with other companies I have to agree that top management at many firms are mostly concerned about their own bonuses. I have always found that the way a company treats its employees is the same way it treats its shareholders, customers, vendors and the nation which spends billions of dollars protecting the assets of said corporations here and abroad. The adage that "there is no honor among thieves", is extremely true in the world of business.

Whether it is Mr. Moore on the left or Congressman Ron Paul on the right, many have observed the way that many corporate executives seem to be able to easily influence all branches of government and all agencies of government from the local to the federal level. Those who are Wall Street Fraudsters practice their dark arts throughout the entire economy.

SENATORS ACCUSE GOLDMAN SACHS AND OTHERS OF WIDESPREAD FRAUD

The following release was from the web site of Senator Carl Levin, Chairman on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. It reveals widespread fraud and misrepresentations at various wall street firms during the financial meltdown which has led us to the current great recession:

" WASHINGTON – Concluding a two-year bipartisan investigation, Senator Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Senator Tom Coburn M.D., R-Okla., Chairman and Ranking Republican on the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, today released a 635-page final report (PDF, 6MB) on their inquiry into key causes of the financial crisis. The report catalogs conflicts of interest, heedless risk-taking and failures of federal oversight that helped push the country into the deepest recession since the Great Depression.

“Using emails, memos and other internal documents, this report tells the inside story of an economic assault that cost millions of Americans their jobs and homes, while wiping out investors, good businesses, and markets,” said Levin. “High risk lending, regulatory failures, inflated credit ratings, and Wall Street firms engaging in massive conflicts of interest, contaminated the U.S. financial system with toxic mortgages and undermined public trust in U.S. markets. Using their own words in documents subpoenaed by the Subcommittee, the report discloses how financial firms deliberately took advantage of their clients and investors, how credit rating agencies assigned AAA ratings to high risk securities, and how regulators sat on their hands instead of reining in the unsafe and unsound practices all around them. Rampant conflicts of interest are the threads that run through every chapter of this sordid story.”

“The free market has helped make America great, but it only functions when people deal with each other honestly and transparently. At the heart of the financial crisis were unresolved, and often undisclosed, conflicts of interest,” said Dr. Coburn. “Blame for this mess lies everywhere from federal regulators who cast a blind eye, Wall Street bankers who let greed run wild, and members of Congress who failed to provide oversight.”

The Levin-Coburn report expands on evidence gathered at four Subcommittee hearings in April 2010, examining four aspects of the crisis through detailed case studies: high-risk mortgage lending, using the case of Washington Mutual Bank, a $300 billion thrift that became the largest bank failure in U.S. history; regulatory inaction, focusing on the Office of Thrift Supervision’s failed oversight of Washington Mutual; inflated credit ratings that misled investors, examining the actions of the nation’s two largest credit rating agencies, Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s; and the role played by investment banks, focusing primarily on Goldman Sachs, creating and selling structured finance products that foisted billions of dollars of losses on investors, while the bank itself profited from betting against the mortgage market.

New Evidence. Today’s report presents new facts, new findings and recommendations, with more than 700 new documents totaling over 5,800 pages. It recounts how Washington Mutual aggressively issued and sold high-risk mortgages to Wall Street, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac, even as its executives predicted a housing bubble that would burst, and offers new detail about how its regulator deferred to the bank’s management. New documents show how Goldman used net short positions to benefit from the downturn in the mortgage market, and designed, marketed, and sold CDOs in ways that created conflicts of interest with the firm’s clients and at times led to the bank’s profiting from the same products that caused substantial losses for its clients. Other new information provides additional detail about how credit rating agencies rushed to rate new mortgage-backed securities and collect lucrative rating fees before issuing mass ratings downgrades that shocked the financial markets and triggered a collapse in the value of mortgage related securities. Over 120 new documents provide insights into how Deutsche Bank contributed to the mortgage mess.

“Our investigation found a financial snake pit rife with greed, conflicts of interest, and wrongdoing,” said Levin. Among the report’s highlights are the following.

High Risk Lending. With an eye on short term profits, Washington Mutual launched a strategy of high-risk mortgage lending in early 2005, even as the bank’s own top executives stated that the condition of the housing market “signifies a bubble” with risks that “will come back to haunt us.” Executives forged ahead despite repeated warnings from inside and outside the bank that the risks were excessive, its lending standards and risk management systems were deficient, and many of its loans were tainted by fraud or prone to early default. WaMu’s chief credit officer complained at one point that “[a]ny attempts to enforce [a] more disciplined underwriting approach were continuously thwarted by an aggressive, and often times abusive group of Sales employees within the organization.” From 2003 to 2006, WaMu shifted its loan originations from low risk, fixed rate mortgages, which fell from 64% to 25% of its loan originations, to high risk loans, which jumped from 19% to 55% of its originations. WaMu and its subprime lender, Long Beach Mortgage, securitized hundreds of billions of dollars in high risk, poor quality, sometimes fraudulent mortgages, at times without full disclosure to investors, weakening U.S. financial markets. New analysis shows how WaMu sold some of its high risk loans to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and played one off the other to make more money.
Regulatory Failures. The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Washington Mutual’s primary regulator, repeatedly failed to correct WaMu’s unsafe and unsound lending practices, despite logging nearly 500 serious deficiencies at the bank over five years, from 2003 to 2008. New information details the regulator’s deference to bank management and how it used the bank’s short term profits to excuse high risk activities. Although WaMu recorded increasing problems from its high risk loans, including delinquencies that doubled year after year in its risky Option Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) portfolio, OTS examiners failed to clamp down on WaMu’s high risk lending. OTS did not even consider bringing an enforcement action against the bank until it began losing substantial sums in 2008. OTS also failed until 2008, to lower the bank’s overall high rating or the rating awarded to WaMu’s management, despite the bank’s ongoing failure to correct serious deficiencies. When the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) advocated taking tougher action, OTS officials not only refused, but impeded FDIC oversight of the bank. When the New York State Attorney General sued two appraisal firms for colluding with WaMu to inflate property values, OTS took nearly a year to conduct its own investigation and finally recommended taking action -- a week after the bank had failed. The OTS Director treated WaMu, which was its largest thrift and supplied 15% of the agency’s budget, as a “constituent” and struck an apologetic tone when informing WaMu’s CEO of its decision to take an enforcement action. When diligent oversight conflicted with OTS officials’ desire to protect their “constituent” and the agency’s own turf, they ignored their oversight responsibilities.
Inflated Credit Ratings. The Report concludes that the most immediate cause of the financial crisis was the July 2007 mass ratings downgrades by Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s that exposed the risky nature of mortgage-related investments that, just months before, the same firms had deemed to be as safe as Treasury bills. The result was a collapse in the value of mortgage related securities that devastated investors. Internal emails show that credit rating agency personnel knew their ratings would not “hold” and delayed imposing tougher ratings criteria to “massage the … numbers to preserve market share.” Even after they finally adjusted their risk models to reflect the higher risk mortgages being issued, the firms often failed to apply the revised models to existing securities, and helped investment banks rush risky investments to market before tougher rating criteria took effect. They also continued to pull in lucrative fees of up to $135,000 to rate a mortgage backed security and up to $750,000 to rate a collateralized debt obligation (CDO) – fees that might have been lost if they angered issuers by providing lower ratings. The mass rating downgrades they finally initiated were not an effort to come clean, but were necessitated by skyrocketing mortgage delinquencies and securities plummeting in value. In the end, over 90% of the AAA ratings given to mortgage-backed securities in 2006 and 2007 were downgraded to junk status, including 75 out of 75 AAA-rated Long Beach securities issued in 2006. When sound credit ratings conflicted with collecting profitable fees, credit rating agencies chose the fees.
Investment Banks and Structured Finance. Investment banks reviewed by the Subcommittee assembled and sold billions of dollars in mortgage-related investments that flooded financial markets with high-risk assets. They charged $1 to $8 million in fees to construct, underwrite, and market a mortgage-backed security, and $5 to $10 million per CDO. New documents detail how Deutsche Bank helped assembled a $1.1 billion CDO known as Gemstone 7, stood by as it was filled it with low-quality assets that its top CDO trader referred to as “crap” and “pigs,” and rushed to sell it “before the market falls off a cliff.” Deutsche Bank lost $4.5 billion when the mortgage market collapsed, but would have lost even more if it had not cut its losses by selling CDOs like Gemstone. When Goldman Sachs realized the mortgage market was in decline, it took actions to profit from that decline at the expense of its clients. New documents detail how, in 2007, Goldman’s Structured Products Group twice amassed and profited from large net short positions in mortgage related securities. At the same time the firm was betting against the mortgage market as a whole, Goldman assembled and aggressively marketed to its clients poor quality CDOs that it actively bet against by taking large short positions in those transactions. New documents and information detail how Goldman recommended four CDOs, Hudson, Anderson, Timberwolf, and Abacus, to its clients without fully disclosing key information about those products, Goldman’s own market views, or its adverse economic interests. For example, in Hudson, Goldman told investors that its interests were “aligned” with theirs when, in fact, Goldman held 100% of the short side of the CDO and had adverse interests to the investors, and described Hudson’s assets were “sourced from the Street,” when in fact, Goldman had selected and priced the assets without any third party involvement. New documents also reveal that, at one point in May 2007, Goldman Sachs unsuccessfully tried to execute a “short squeeze” in the mortgage market so that Goldman could scoop up short positions at artificially depressed prices and profit as the mortgage market declined.
Recommendations. The Report offers 19 recommendations to address the conflicts of interest and abuses exposed in the Report. The recommendations advocate, for example, strong implementation of the new restrictions on proprietary trading and conflicts of interest; and action by the SEC to rank credit rating agencies according to the accuracy of their ratings. Other recommendations seek to advance low risk mortgages, greater transparency in the marketplace, and more protective capital, liquidity, and loss reserves."

The above review of the certain banking businesses came from the web site of Senator Carl Levin. If these allegations are true then, the United States has a really big problem with several major financial institutions. Hopefully, the department of justice will work to enforce the laws that exist to protect the public from the monsters in the banking sector who embrace fraud for personal gains.

FDIC LIST OF FAILED BANKS JANUARY 2010-APRIL 2011

The following excerpt came from the FDIC web site. This is a list of failed banks and the acquiring bank by date. The dates range from January 2010-April 2011 and are arranged from most recent to oldest:

Bank Name City State CERT # Acquiring Institution Closing Date Updated Date:

Nevada Commerce Bank Las Vegas NV 35418 City National Bank April 8, 2011 April 11, 2011
Western Springs National Bank and Trust Western Springs IL 10086 Heartland Bank and Trust Company April 8, 2011 April 11, 2011
The Bank of Commerce Wood Dale IL 34292 Advantage National Bank Group March 25, 2011 March 29, 2011
Legacy Bank Milwaukee WI 34818 Seaway Bank and Trust Company March 11, 2011 March 15, 2011
First National Bank of Davis Davis OK 4077 The Pauls Valley National Bank March 11, 2011 March 31, 2011
Valley Community Bank St. Charles IL 34187 First State Bank February 25, 2011 March 02, 2011
San Luis Trust Bank, FSB San Luis Obispo CA 34783 First California Bank February 18, 2011 March 4, 2011
Charter Oak Bank Napa CA 57855 Bank of Marin February 18, 2011 March 4, 2011
Citizens Bank of Effingham Springfield GA 34601 Heritage Bank of the South February 18, 2011 February 23, 2011
Habersham Bank Clarkesville GA 151 SCBT National Association February 18, 2011 February 23, 2011
Canyon National Bank Palm Springs CA 34692 Pacific Premier Bank February 11, 2011 March 4, 2011
Badger State Bank Cassville WI 13272 Royal Bank February 11, 2011 February 18, 2011
Peoples State Bank Hamtramck MI 14939 First Michigan Bank February 11, 2011 February 18, 2011
Sunshine State Community Bank Port Orange FL 35478 Premier American Bank, N.A. February 11, 2011 March 3, 2011
Community First Bank Chicago Chicago IL 57948 Northbrook Bank & Trust February 4, 2011 February 10, 2011
North Georgia Bank Watkinsville GA 35242 BankSouth February 4, 2011 February 11, 2011
American Trust Bank Roswell GA 57432 Renasant Bank February 4, 2011 February 11, 2011
First Community Bank Taos NM 12261 U.S. Bank, National Association January 28, 2011 February 10, 2011
FirsTier Bank Louisville CO 57646 No Acquirer January 28, 2011 February 2, 2011
Evergreen State Bank Stoughton WI 5328 McFarland State Bank January 28, 2011 February 10, 2011
The First State Bank Camargo OK 2303 Bank 7 January 28, 2011 February 10, 2011
United Western Bank Denver CO 31293 First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. January 21, 2011 February 10, 2011
The Bank of Asheville Asheville NC 34516 First Bank January 21, 2011 February 10, 2011
CommunitySouth Bank & Trust Easley SC 57868 CertusBank, National Association January 21, 2011 February 10, 2011
Enterprise Banking Company McDonough GA 19758 No Acquirer January 21, 2011 January 27, 2011
Oglethorpe Bank Brunswick GA 57440 Bank of the Ozarks January 14, 2011 January 20, 2011
Legacy Bank Scottsdale AZ 57820 Enterprise Bank & Trust January 7, 2011 February 11, 2011
First Commercial Bank of Florida Orlando FL 34965 First Southern Bank January 7, 2011 January 11, 2011
Community National Bank Lino Lakes MN 23306 Farmers & Merchants Savings Bank December 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
First Southern Bank Batesville AR 58052 Southern Bank December 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
United Americas Bank, N.A. Atlanta GA 35065 State Bank and Trust Company December 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
Appalachian Community Bank, FSB McCaysville GA 58495 Peoples Bank of East Tennessee December 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
Chestatee State Bank Dawsonville GA 34578 Bank of the Ozarks December 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
The Bank of Miami,N.A. Coral Gables FL 19040 1st United Bank December 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
Earthstar Bank Southampton PA 35561 Polonia Bank December 10, 2010 March 8, 2011
Paramount Bank Farmington Hills MI 34673 Level One Bank December 10, 2010 March 8, 2011
First Banking Center Burlington WI 5287 First Michigan Bank November 19, 2010 March 8, 2011
Allegiance Bank of North America Bala Cynwyd PA 35078 VIST Bank November 19, 2010 March 8, 2011
Gulf State Community Bank Carrabelle FL 20340 Centennial Bank November 19, 2010 March 8, 2011
Copper Star Bank Scottsdale AZ 35463 Stearns Bank, N.A. November 12, 2010 March 8, 2011
Darby Bank & Trust Co. Vidalia GA 14580 Ameris Bank November 12, 2010 March 8, 2011
Tifton Banking Company Tifton GA 57831 Ameris Bank November 12, 2010 March 8, 2011
First Vietnamese American Bank
In Vietnamese Westminster CA 57885 Grandpoint Bank November 5, 2010 March 8, 2011
Pierce Commercial Bank Tacoma WA 34411 Heritage Bank November 5, 2010 March 8, 2011
Western Commercial Bank Woodland Hills CA 58087 First California Bank November 5, 2010 March 8, 2011
K Bank Randallstown MD 31263 Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company November 5, 2010 March 8, 2011
First Arizona Savings, A FSB Scottsdale AZ 32582 No Acquirer October 22, 2010 March 8, 2011
Hillcrest Bank Overland Park KS 22173 Hillcrest Bank, N.A. October 22, 2010 March 8, 2011
First Suburban National Bank Maywood IL 16089 Seaway Bank and Trust Company October 22, 2010 March 8, 2011
The First National Bank of Barnesville Barnesville GA 2119 United Bank, Zebulon October 22, 2010 March 8, 2011
The Gordon Bank Gordon GA 33904 Morris Bank October 22, 2010 March 8, 2011
Progress Bank of Florida Tampa FL 32251 Bay Cities Bank October 22, 2010 March 8, 2011
First Bank of Jacksonville Jacksonville FL 27573 Ameris Bank October 22, 2010 March 8, 2011
Premier Bank Jefferson City MO 34016 Providence Bank October 15, 2010 March 8, 2011
WestBridge Bank and Trust Company Chesterfield MO 58205 Midland States Bank October 15, 2010 March 8, 2011
Security Savings Bank, F.S.B. Olathe KS 30898 Simmons First National Bank October 15, 2010 March 8, 2011
Shoreline Bank Shoreline WA 35250 GBC International Bank October 1, 2010 March 8, 2011
Wakulla Bank Crawfordville FL 21777 Centennial Bank October 1, 2010 March 8, 2011
North County Bank Arlington WA 35053 Whidbey Island Bank September 24, 2010 March 8, 2011
Haven Trust Bank Florida Ponte Vedra Beach FL 58308 First Southern Bank September 24, 2010 March 8, 2011
Maritime Savings Bank West Allis WI 28612 North Shore Bank, FSB September 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
Bramble Savings Bank Milford OH 27808 Foundation Bank September 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
The Peoples Bank Winder GA 182 Community & Southern Bank September 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
First Commerce Community Bank Douglasville GA 57448 Community & Southern Bank September 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
Bank of Ellijay Ellijay GA 58197 Community & Southern Bank September 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
ISN Bank Cherry Hill NJ 57107 Customers Bank September 17, 2010 March 8, 2011
Horizon Bank Bradenton FL 35061 Bank of the Ozarks September 10, 2010 March 8, 2011
Sonoma Valley Bank Sonoma CA 27259 Westamerica Bank August 20, 2010 March 8, 2011
Los Padres Bank Solvang CA 32165 Pacific Western Bank August 20, 2010 March 16, 2011
Butte Community Bank Chico CA 33219 Rabobank, N.A. August 20, 2010 March 8, 2011
Pacific State Bank Stockton CA 27090 Rabobank, N.A. August 20, 2010 March 8, 2011
ShoreBank Chicago IL 15640 Urban Partnership Bank August 20, 2010 March 7, 2011
Imperial Savings and Loan Association Martinsville VA 31623 River Community Bank, N.A. August 20, 2010 March 7, 2011
Independent National Bank Ocala FL 27344 CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. August 20, 2010 March 7, 2011
Community National Bank at Bartow Bartow FL 25266 CenterState Bank of Florida, N.A. August 20, 2010 March 7, 2011
Palos Bank and Trust Company Palos Heights IL 17599 First Midwest Bank August 13, 2010 March 7, 2011
Ravenswood Bank Chicago IL 34231 Northbrook Bank and Trust Company August 6, 2010 March 7, 2011
LibertyBank Eugene OR 31964 Home Federal Bank July 30, 2010 March 7, 2011
The Cowlitz Bank Longview WA 22643 Heritage Bank July 30, 2010 March 7, 2011
Coastal Community Bank Panama City Beach FL 9619 Centennial Bank July 30, 2010 March 7, 2011
Bayside Savings Bank Port Saint Joe FL 57669 Centennial Bank July 30, 2010 March 7, 2011
Northwest Bank & Trust Acworth GA 57658 State Bank and Trust Company July 30, 2010 March 7, 2011
Home Valley Bank Cave Junction OR 23181 South Valley Bank & Trust July 23, 2010 March 7, 2011
SouthwestUSA Bank Las Vegas NV 35434 Plaza Bank July 23, 2010 March 7, 2011
Community Security Bank New Prague MN 34486 Roundbank July 23, 2010 March 7, 2011
Thunder Bank Sylvan Grove KS 10506 The Bennington State Bank July 23, 2010 March 7, 2011
Williamsburg First National Bank Kingstree SC 17837 First Citizens Bank and Trust Company, Inc. July 23, 2010 March 7, 2011
Crescent Bank and Trust Company Jasper GA 27559 Renasant Bank July 23, 2010 March 7, 2011
Sterling Bank Lantana FL 32536 IBERIABANK July 23, 2010 March 7, 2011
Mainstreet Savings Bank, FSB Hastings MI 28136 Commercial Bank July 16, 2010 March 7, 2011
Olde Cypress Community Bank Clewiston FL 28864 CenterState Bank of Florida July 16, 2010 March 7, 2011
Turnberry Bank Aventura FL 32280 NAFH National Bank July 16, 2010 March 7, 2011
Metro Bank of Dade County Miami FL 25172 NAFH National Bank July 16, 2010 March 7, 2011
First National Bank of the South Spartanburg SC 35383 NAFH National Bank July 16, 2010 March 7, 2011
Woodlands Bank Bluffton SC 32571 Bank of the Ozarks July 16, 2010 March 7, 2011
Home National Bank Blackwell OK 11636 RCB Bank July 9, 2010 March 16, 2011
USA Bank Port Chester NY 58072 New Century Bank July 9, 2010 March 7, 2011
Ideal Federal Savings Bank Baltimore MD 32456 No Acquirer July 9, 2010 March 7, 2011
Bay National Bank Baltimore MD 35462 Bay Bank, FSB July 9, 2010 March 7, 2011
High Desert State Bank Albuquerque NM 35279 First American Bank June 25, 2010 November 1, 2010
First National Bank Savannah GA 34152 The Savannah Bank, N.A. June 25, 2010 October 21, 2010
Peninsula Bank Englewood FL 26563 Premier American Bank, N.A. June 25, 2010 September 22, 2010
Nevada Security Bank Reno NV 57110 Umpqua Bank June 18, 2010 October 22, 2010
Washington First International Bank Seattle WA 32955 East West Bank June 11, 2010 November 30, 2010
TierOne Bank Lincoln NE 29341 Great Western Bank June 4, 2010 March 24, 2010
Arcola Homestead Savings Bank Arcola IL 31813 No Acquirer June 4, 2010 August 26, 2010
First National Bank Rosedale MS 15814 The Jefferson Bank June 4, 2010 August 26, 2010
Sun West Bank Las Vegas NV 34785 City National Bank May 28, 2010 November 1, 2010
Granite Community Bank, NA Granite Bay CA 57315 Tri Counties Bank May 28, 2010 November 1, 2010
Bank of Florida - Tampa Tampa FL 57814 EverBank May 28, 2010 August 26, 2010
Bank of Florida - Southwest Naples FL 35106 EverBank May 28, 2010 August 26, 2010
Bank of Florida - Southeast Fort Lauderdale FL 57360 EverBank May 28, 2010 August 26, 2010
Pinehurst Bank Saint Paul MN 57735 Coulee Bank May 21, 2010 August 26, 2010
Midwest Bank and Trust Company Elmwood Park IL 18117 FirstMerit Bank, N.A. May 14, 2010 August 26, 2010
Southwest Community Bank Springfield MO 34255 Simmons First National Bank May 14, 2010 October 28, 2010
New Liberty Bank Plymouth MI 35586 Bank of Ann Arbor May 14, 2010 August 26, 2010
Satilla Community Bank Saint Marys GA 35114 Ameris Bank May 14, 2010 August 26, 2010
1st Pacific Bank of California San Diego CA 35517 City National Bank May 7, 2010 August 26, 2010
Towne Bank of Arizona Mesa AZ 57697 Commerce Bank of Arizona May 7, 2010 August 26, 2010
Access Bank Champlin MN 16476 PrinsBank May 7, 2010 August 26, 2010
The Bank of Bonifay Bonifay FL 14246 First Federal Bank of Florida May 7, 2010 August 26, 2010
Frontier Bank Everett WA 22710 Union Bank, N.A. April 30, 2010 August 26, 2010
BC National Banks Butler MO 17792 Community First Bank April 30, 2010 November 4, 2010
Champion Bank Creve Coeur MO 58362 BankLiberty April 30, 2010 August 26, 2010
CF Bancorp Port Huron MI 30005 First Michigan Bank April 30, 2010 March 24, 2010
Westernbank Puerto Rico
En Español Mayaguez PR 31027 Banco Popular de Puerto Rico April 30, 2010 August 26, 2010
R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico
En Español Hato Rey PR 32185 Scotiabank de Puerto Rico April 30, 2010 August 26, 2010
Eurobank
En Español San Juan PR 27150 Oriental Bank and Trust April 30, 2010 March 16, 2010
Wheatland Bank Naperville IL 58429 Wheaton Bank & Trust April 23, 2010 August 26, 2010
Peotone Bank and Trust Company Peotone IL 10888 First Midwest Bank April 23, 2010 August 26, 2010
Lincoln Park Savings Bank Chicago IL 30600 Northbrook Bank and Trust Company April 23, 2010 August 26, 2010
New Century Bank Chicago IL 34821 MB Financial Bank, N.A. April 23, 2010 August 26, 2010
Citizens Bank and Trust Company of Chicago Chicago IL 34658 Republic Bank of Chicago April 23, 2010 November 4, 2010
Broadway Bank Chicago IL 22853 MB Financial Bank, N.A. April 23, 2010 November 3, 2010
Amcore Bank, National Association Rockford IL 3735 Harris N.A. April 23, 2010 March 10, 2011
City Bank Lynnwood WA 21521 Whidbey Island Bank April 16, 2010 November 29, 2010
Tamalpais Bank San Rafael CA 33493 Union Bank, N.A. April 16, 2010 August 26, 2010
Innovative Bank Oakland CA 23876 Center Bank April 16, 2010 August 26, 2010
Butler Bank Lowell MA 26619 People's United Bank April 16, 2010 November 4, 2010
Riverside National Bank of Florida Fort Pierce FL 24067 TD Bank, N.A. April 16, 2010 August 26, 2010
AmericanFirst Bank Clermont FL 57724 TD Bank, N.A. April 16, 2010 November 8, 2010
First Federal Bank of North Florida Palatka FL 28886 TD Bank, N.A. April 16, 2010 August 27, 2010
Lakeside Community Bank Sterling Heights MI 34878 No Acquirer April 16, 2010 August 27, 2010
Beach First National Bank Myrtle Beach SC 34242 Bank of North Carolina April 9, 2010 August 27, 2010
Desert Hills Bank Phoenix AZ 57060 New York Community Bank March 26, 2010 August 27, 2010
Unity National Bank Cartersville GA 34678 Bank of the Ozarks March 26, 2010 August 27, 2010
Key West Bank Key West FL 34684 Centennial Bank March 26, 2010 November 3, 2010
McIntosh Commercial Bank Carrollton GA 57399 CharterBank March 26, 2010 August 27, 2010
State Bank of Aurora Aurora MN 8221 Northern State Bank March 19, 2010 August 27, 2010
First Lowndes Bank Fort Deposit AL 24957 First Citizens Bank March 19, 2010 November 3, 2010
Bank of Hiawassee Hiawassee GA 10054 Citizens South Bank March 19, 2010 August 27, 2010
Appalachian Community Bank Ellijay GA 33989 Community & Southern Bank March 19, 2010 August 27, 2010
Advanta Bank Corp. Draper UT 33535 No Acquirer March 19, 2010 September 16, 2010
Century Security Bank Duluth GA 58104 Bank of Upson March 19, 2010 August 27, 2010
American National Bank Parma OH 18806 The National Bank and Trust Company March 19, 2010 November 4, 2010
Statewide Bank Covington LA 29561 Home Bank March 12, 2010 August 27, 2010
Old Southern Bank Orlando FL 58182 Centennial Bank March 12, 2010 August 27, 2010
The Park Avenue Bank New York NY 27096 Valley National Bank March 12, 2010 August 27, 2010
LibertyPointe Bank New York NY 58071 Valley National Bank March 11, 2010 August 27, 2010
Centennial Bank Ogden UT 34430 No Acquirer March 5, 2010 August 27, 2010
Waterfield Bank Germantown MD 34976 No Acquirer March 5, 2010 August 27, 2010
Bank of Illinois Normal IL 9268 Heartland Bank and Trust Company March 5, 2010 August 27, 2010
Sun American Bank Boca Raton FL 27126 First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company March 5, 2010 August 27, 2010
Rainier Pacific Bank Tacoma WA 38129 Umpqua Bank February 26, 2010 August 27, 2010
Carson River Community Bank Carson City NV 58352 Heritage Bank of Nevada February 26, 2010 August 27, 2010
La Jolla Bank, FSB La Jolla CA 32423 OneWest Bank, FSB February 19, 2010 August 27, 2010
George Washington Savings Bank Orland Park IL 29952 FirstMerit Bank, N.A. February 19, 2010 August 27, 2010
The La Coste National Bank La Coste TX 3287 Community National Bank February 19, 2010 November 3, 2010
Marco Community Bank Marco Island FL 57586 Mutual of Omaha Bank February 19, 2010 August 27, 2010
1st American State Bank of Minnesota Hancock MN 15448 Community Development Bank, FSB February 5, 2010 November 8, 2010
American Marine Bank Bainbridge Island WA 16730 Columbia State Bank January 29, 2010 August 26, 2010
First Regional Bank Los Angeles CA 23011 First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company January 29, 2010 August 26, 2010
Community Bank and Trust Cornelia GA 5702 SCBT National Association January 29, 2010 August 26, 2010
Marshall Bank, N.A. Hallock MN 16133 United Valley Bank January 29, 2010 August 26, 2010
Florida Community Bank Immokalee FL 5672 Premier American Bank, N.A. January 29, 2010 March 24, 2010
First National Bank of Georgia Carrollton GA 16480 Community and Southern Bank January 29, 2010 November 3, 2010
Columbia River Bank The Dalles OR 22469 Columbia State Bank January 22, 2010 November 2, 2010
Evergreen Bank Seattle WA 20501 Umpqua Bank January 22, 2010 August 26, 2010
Charter Bank Santa Fe NM 32498 Charter Bank January 22, 2010 August 26, 2010
Bank of Leeton Leeton MO 8265 Sunflower Bank, N.A. January 22, 2010 August 26, 2010
Premier American Bank Miami FL 57147 Premier American Bank, N.A. January 22, 2010 August 26, 2010
Barnes Banking Company Kaysville UT 1252 No Acquirer January 15, 2010 August 26, 2010
St. Stephen State Bank St. Stephen MN 17522 First State Bank of St. Joseph January 15, 2010 November 2, 2010
Town Community Bank & Trust Antioch IL 34705 First American Bank January 15, 2010 August 26, 2010
Horizon Bank Bellingham WA 22977 Washington Federal Savings and Loan Association January 8, 2010 November 4, 2010

CORPORATE ATTORNEY AND WALL STREET TRADER CHARGE BY SEC FOR INSIDER TARADING

Everyone who ever has traded very many stocks knows that insider trading and manipulated trading by large institutions goes on all the time. The following is a case that the SEC for whatever reason decided to prosecute. The case is from the SEC blog:

" Washington, D.C., April 6, 2011 – The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a corporate attorney and a Wall Street trader with insider trading in advance of at least 11 merger and acquisition announcements involving clients of the law firm where the attorney worked.
The SEC alleges that Matthew H. Kluger, who formerly worked at Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Garrett D. Bauer did not have a direct relationship with each other, but were linked only through a mutual friend who acted as a middleman to facilitate the illegal scheme. Kluger and Bauer communicated with the middleman using public telephones and prepaid disposable mobile phones in order to avoid detection. According to the SEC’s complaint, Kluger accessed information on 11 mergers and acquisitions involving the law firm’s clients and then tipped the middleman. In at least nine instances, the middleman passed the information on to Bauer, who illegally traded for illicit profits totaling nearly $32 million.

In a parallel criminal action, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey today announced the arrests of Kluger and Bauer.
“They plotted to fly under law enforcement radar by using disposable phones to hide their communications, cash withdrawals to obscure the flow of tainted money, and a middleman to conceal Kluger as the secret source of inside information,” said Robert Khuzami, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Now, those same schemes and devices serve only to make it clear beyond any doubt that Kluger and Bauer were involved in an illegal scheme.”
Daniel M. Hawke, Chief of the SEC’s Market Abuse Unit and Director of its Philadelphia Regional Office, added “This was a brazen and deplorable scheme in which Kluger, a lawyer, repeatedly abused his access to confidential client information. As this and recent cases demonstrate, the Division of Enforcement is working aggressively to root out and identify hard-to-detect insider trading by connecting patterns of trading to sources of material non-public information - whether those sources are law firms or others who are under a duty to keep such information confidential.”
According to the SEC’s complaint filed in federal court in Newark, N.J., Kluger, Bauer and the middleman deliberately structured their communications and trading so that Kluger and the middleman could share in the insider trading proceeds while Bauer could illegally trade and profit without being connected to Kluger as a possible source of information. Bauer withdrew cash from his bank accounts and kicked back hundreds of thousands of dollars to the middleman, who in turn delivered at least $500,000 to Kluger for his role in the scheme.
According to the SEC’s complaint, over the past five years Kluger accessed and then tipped confidential information in advance of the following 11 mergers and acquisitions between April 2006 and March 2011:
The acquisition of Advanced Digital Information Corp. by Quantum Corp., announced May 2, 2006.
The acquisition of Acxiom Corp. by multiple entities, announced on May 17, 2007.
The strategic recapitalization of Palm Inc. with Elevation Partners LP, announced June 4, 2007.
The planned acquisition of 3Com Corp. by Bain Capital LLC, announced Sept. 28, 2007.
The acquisition of Visual Sciences Inc. by Omniture Inc., announced Oct. 25, 2007.
The acquisition of Ansoft Corp. by Ansys Inc., announced March 31, 2008.
The acquisition of Sun Microsystems Inc. by Oracle Corp., announced April 20, 2009.
The acquisition of Omniture Inc. by Adobe Systems Inc., announced Sept. 15, 2009.
The acquisition of 3Com Corp. by Hewlett-Packard Co., announced Nov. 11, 2009.
The acquisition of McAfee Inc. by Intel Corp., announced Aug. 19, 2010.
The acquisition of Zoran Corp. by CSR PLC, announced Feb. 20, 2011.
The middleman traded in two deals on the basis of information that he received from Kluger and profited at least $690,000.
The SEC alleges that Kluger and Bauer violated Sections 10(b) and 14(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rules 10b-5 and 14e-3 thereunder. The SEC is seeking permanent injunctions, disgorgement of ill-gotten gains with prejudgment interest, and financial penalties.”