by BoatSurfer600
Amid a financial crime spree and spate of corporate convictions, federal regulators recently floated a proposed fix: strengthening an existing rule designed to bar criminal banks from managing — and profiting off — trillions of dollars of retirement funds.
The idea seemed simple enough: Banks would be deterred from committing crime by the prospect of losing lucrative business, and American workers would be better assured that their retirement money wasn’t being managed by literal criminals.
And yet despite the idea being grounded in longstanding law, the new initiative has prompted a Wall Street freak-out. In recent weeks, financial behemoths have deployed an army of lobbyists to try to block the proposal, and prevent the government from making sure criminals are not skimming fees from millions of retirees.
Even after the financial crisis that cratered the global economy, presidential administrations from both parties have routinely waived such rules for criminal banks that have delivered them large campaign contributions. But a new Biden Labor Department initiative could change that, making it tougher for banks convicted of crimes in the United States and abroad to operate in the $39 trillion retirement savings industry. The revised rule would also apply to banks that have agreed to settlements with the government to resolve criminal investigations.
Source: https://www.levernews.com/criminal-banks-want-to-have-their-cake-and-eat-it-too/