Obama Lets Off JPMorgan Chase, Again

September 20, 2013 • 4:43PM

LaRouchePAC organizers report people on Capital Hill and at the Congressional Black Caucus conference were none too happy that the Obama administration, once again, has let off JP Morgan Chase & Co. management with mere payment of fines as settlement for the latest round of financial crimes they have been caught in, with nary a whiff of prosecution of any top executive. Not to mention cancelling its license to operate! JP Morgan Chase agreed to pay fines totaling around $1 billion, chump change for this predatory behemoth which reported $6.5 billion in earnings in the last quarter alone. On September 19 alone, settlements were reached on four different types of criminal activity:

1). So-called "London whale" trading. In the words of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), JP Morgan engaged in "credit derivatives trading activity [which] constituted recklessly unsafe and unsound practices, was part of a pattern of misconduct, and resulted in more than minimal loss, all within the meaning of 12 U.S.C. § 1818(i)(2)(B); and The Bank failed to ensure that significant information related to the credit derivatives trading strategy and deficiencies identified in risk management systems and controls was provided in a timely and appropriate manner to OCC examiners." That is, it violated the U.S. banking law for FDIC insured banks (12 U.S.C. § 1818(i)(2)(B)) by gambling its depositors money on the London derivatives markets. Couldn't have been done if Glass-Steagall had been reinstated. What were the fines paid to settle? A mere $920 million.

2). Charging 2.1 million customers for credit-monitoring and identity theft protection services they either had not approved or never received, over a period of nearly seven years. Settlement? $80 million in fines, about $309 million in refunds to the people they stole from, and the pious statement that "any mistakes like these are regrettable."

3) Unspecified "errors" in "hundreds of thousands" of debt collection lawsuits initiated by the bank. Obama's OCC ordered JP Morgan to "review" all debt collection litigation, excluding home loans, dating back to 2009. No fines required here, just to provide restitution, where errors are found.

4) Violating the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. That's the law which allows members of the U.S. armed services to postpone or suspend financial obligations such as outstanding credit card debt payments. Here, too, JP Morgan was merely ordered to "improve" its compliance, and was not even required to pay even a fine for screwing members of the military.

Investigations by at least seven federal agencies and various state regulators continue into the crimes of this London-run institution, which has plagued the American nation for far too long. But it's biggest worry is the one that will shut down its whole filthy gambling scam—reinstating Glass-Steagall now.