Over the last decade the largest international bank have been involved in multiple scandals. One name embodies the excesses of this renegade finance: HSBC. Uncovering HSBC’s Dark Financial Empire: The Untouchable Bank, 2023
From money laundering to the Mafia, and manipulation of currency, HSBC has its hands in a variety of illicit activities. ibid.
‘How many billions of dollars do you have to launder for drug lords before somebody says, We’re shutting you down.’ ibid. US committee investigation
HSBC enjoys unbelievable immunity and continues to earn more profits. ibid.
Hong Kong is the new El Dorado of world finance. ibid.
In Hong Kong HSBC is untouchable. ibid.
The opium trade had its golden age, and the settlers need a bank. They create the HSBC, the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation. ibid.
Formerly the Bank of Pirates, it continues to function on the dark side of finance. The only different is, it no longer operates only in Hong Kong. The bank had become a global empire. ibid.
Not only have bank employees worked hand in hand with criminal organisations responsible for thousands of murders, but their managers ignored all of the warning signs. ibid.
‘Drug lords that said that HSBC was the place to launder money.’ ibid. man in the know
‘London knew everything and the just didn’t care.’ ibid.
If HSBC were a country, it would be the fifth economic power. ibid.
George Osborne: He writes a letter to his counterpart, Timothy Geithner, and to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, in which he defends the HSBC cause. ibid.
It moved its headquarters to London but keeps the heart of its business in Hong Kong. ibid.
Even the Swiss feel obliged to intervene … The Swiss settled for chump change. ibid.
‘They made a big proprietary bet against the mortgage market.’ ibid. another man in the know
Goldman Sachs has been caught in multiple illegal activities. ibid.
Vanguard: The nation’s first and largest index fund. The captain of Vanguard is a man with unlimited ambition who through sheer force of will built a financial empire. Vanguard: The 8 Trillion Dollar Empire, Youtube 37.04, 2023
In 1928 Jack Morgan is the most powerful man on Wall Street. Thanks to an era of easy money he and his fellow bankers set loose the Roaring 20s. The Stock Market has climbed nearly 40% in one year. The Twisted History of Morgan Stanley, Youtube 44.04, 2023
It is the worst crash the nation has ever witnessed. For Morgan, whose fortune is cut in half, he is convinced that the only way to save his company and the country is by ousting President Hoover. ibid.
Morgan may have helped put FDR in office but the newly elected leader swiftly turns against him and vows to pursue the bankers responsible for the crash. ibid.
Jack Morgan makes his son Henry Morgan and their business associate Harold Stanley partners of this newly formed company, Morgan Stanley. ibid.
The house of Morgan has always thrived leveraging other people’s money, and the birth of Morgan Stanley is no different. ibid.
As fresh industries burst on to the scene they turn to Wall Street. ibid.
Rival investment banks start to redefine the rules of the game. ibid.
These companies were very smart to raise money at the peak of the bubble. ibid.
In 1993 they find just the target company: by the early 1990s S G Warburg is one of the most prominent British investment banks. The marriage between the two companies will create the world’s largest investment bank … The potential merger goes south. ibid.
A new contender enters their radar: Dean Witter. ibid.
Dean Witter, Discover & Co, and Morgan Stanley completed their merger on May 31st 1997. ibid.
Despite his power at the firm, Purcell has no idea how to run Morgan Stanley. ibid.
A steep decline in performance and a mass exodus of talented employees. ibid.
The old guard prevailed … The exiled king comes back to power. John Mack is about to become the CEO of Morgan Stanley. ibid.
He begins to encourage traders to take audacious risks aiming for hefty profits. ibid.
Opportunity presented itself – mortgage-backed securities. ibid.
Morgan Stanley is about to fall to rock bottom. ibid.
Salvation for Morgan Stanley comes from an unlikely source – the government. ibid.
10 years after the global crisis of 2008, the world is still reeling. But no-one has yet been held responsible. The Men Who Stole the World (and got away with it), Youtube 54.53, 2024
If we do nothing, everything could happen again. ibid.
Wall Street executives and politicians were complicit in creating the crisis. ibid.
‘Our government is supporting home ownership because it is good for America, it is good for families, it is good for our economy.’ ibid. Bush
The public and banks were complicit in committing bank fraud. ibid.
Banks began to borrow a massive amount of money to buy more and more mortgage loans, and package them into derivatives. ibid.
The Lehman bankruptcy: you are talking about the largest single bankruptcy in the history of financial institutions … $693 billion. ibid.
One more time Wall Street misrepresented its financial condition. At the same time millions were spent in bonuses for traders. This was the jackpot. ibid.
The inevitable happens: the house of cards came falling down.
From 2008 to 2011, 30 million people around the world lost their job. Bailouts of banks cost billions to government. Austerity plans spread everywhere. ibid.