Financial Institutions

Having read "Liar's Poker", "Trading With The Enemy" and, now, "FIASCO" [see my Recommendations page] I really do not have high regard for leading Financial Institutions. Even recently, Citigroup has settled with WorldCom and Enron investors, agreeing to pay $2.5billion and $2billion respectively. Surely, the investors had no locus standi to sue Citigroup ? What happened to good old Caveat Emptor ? And, yet, why did Citigroup make such huge payouts ? Isn't there some moral ambiguity here ? Enron and WorldCom's management quite obviously played fast and loose with accounting rules and investors money. But how involved were their bankers ? What role did investment banks play ? How committed were these financial institutions to their primary duty of protecting their depositor's and client's money ? If the CEOs of those companies could go to jail, why do the bankers get away with only fines or settlements ? In the final analysis, whose money are these bankers paying out ?