No accountability on bailout money
Banks receiving taxpayer bailout money aren't disclosing where it's going:
It's something any bank would demand to know before handing out a loan: Where's the money going?Nice.But after receiving billions in aid from U.S. taxpayers, the nation's largest banks say they can't track exactly how they're spending the money or they simply refuse to discuss it.
"We've lent some of it. We've not lent some of it. We've not given any accounting of, 'Here's how we're doing it,'" said Thomas Kelly, a spokesman for JPMorgan Chase, which received $25 billion in emergency bailout money. "We have not disclosed that to the public. We're declining to."
The Associated Press contacted 21 banks that received at least $1 billion in government money and asked four questions: How much has been spent? What was it spent on? How much is being held in savings, and what's the plan for the rest?
None of the banks provided specific answers.
"We're not providing dollar-in, dollar-out tracking," said Barry Koling, a spokesman for Atlanta, Ga.-based SunTrust Banks Inc., which got $3.5 billion in taxpayer dollars.
Some banks said they simply didn't know where the money was going.
I heard a rumor that SunTrust obtained the money only to make their standing in a prospective sale that much better. I have no idea to know if that's really true, but I wouldn't doubt it.
Comments
What is hard to believe is that our Government gave over$700 BILLION of taxpayer dollars to various banks and doesn't have anyone over seeing where it is being spent? I say it is DELIBERATE on the part of the Congress. Where can we find a CHAMPION for the American Taxpayer to expose these crooks?
Posted by: Mike E | December 23, 2008 07:05 AM
Loss of oversight over where money goes has been a problem for some time. It starts right down at the county level and goes all the way to the top. The taxpayers money as well as private money donated to causes has little or no oversight. It is guaranteed that some of this money is being filtered into the back pockets of those in charge.
It is again called follow the money and see where it leads.
Posted by: The Doctor | December 24, 2008 04:10 PM
Somehow I can't believe this is true. Certainly there is a tracking mechanism established in the regs accompanying the bailout bill (which I read in its entirty). Now, I know Congress is a bunch of goofballs but it is likely that the AP reporter wanted a story instead of the facts. Banks are not going to respond to such media requests. Please site article if you have time Jason, I'd like to look into it.