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U.S. bank execs account for spending
Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack, left, and Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, right, leave a meeting at the Treasury Department. Both will testify today in front of the House Financial Services Committee on the use of $176 billion in taxpayer assistance.
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Steve Chiotakis: We're set to hear today from some executives at banks that took bank rescue money last fall. They'll testify before the House Financial Services Committee. It's likely to be more ritual sacrifice for them than testimony. Here's Marketplace's Jeremy Hobson.
Jeremy Hobson: I know the U.S. doesn't torture, but if today's hearing is anything like the one yesterday in the British Parliament . . .
Michael Fallon: You were in charge of this board, you've destroyed a great British bank, you've cost the taxpayer 20 billion pounds.
Well, let's just say C-SPAN's ratings will be higher than usual.
Bankers on the stand will include Citigroup's Vikram Pandit, Bank of America's Ken Lewis, and Morgan Stanley's John Mack. They'll be defending the industry's use of $176 billion in taxpayer assistance.
Banks are under pressure to increase lending, and some are accused of hoarding government dollars instead of making them available to customers. The biggest fireworks, however, are likely to involve bonuses, jets and lavish parties, like the multimillion-dollar Superbowl bash the barren Bank of America threw.
Whether lawmakers leave time to ask about the second phase of the bank bailout remains to be seen.
In New York, I'm Jeremy Hobson for Marketplace.
About the author
Jeremy Hobson is host of Marketplace Morning Report, where he looks at business news from a global perspective to prepare listeners for the day ahead. Follow Jeremy on Twitter @jeremyhobson
There seems to be a major conflict of interest on Market Place. Due to the nature of the major sponsers of show, Mr Rysdal and company never cover any ideas or stories that show that people should pull their money out of the market and Wall Street Banks and into their local / regional economy that they can watch and control. It is quite tiring to hear interview after interview with hedge fund managers and other Wall Street types who want to fix the banks so that everyday people will start forking their money over again. Maybe Wall Street has run its course. How about a story about letting the poorly run banks fail. I support PBS but I never hear my point of view expressed on Market Place.
