Felix Salmon » Blog Archive » Bankslaughter | Blogs |: edbury — You are right: like all salesmen, we tried to sell our products and services. As I believe I have mentioned elsewhere, bankers drank the Kool Aid like everyone else, and most of them thought they were selling great products.
However, I stick by my assertion that we did not create the huge global demand for riskless returns that is at the root of our current predicament. Investment bankers did not force anyone to buy toxic securities or execute stupid M&A deals. They did not have fiduciary duties to the shareholders and stakeholders of the pension funds, hedge funds, and corporations who did do those deals: the management of those entities did. And, as fiduciaries, these are the people with whom the buck stops. These are the people who have to say, “Wait a minute, gravity hasn’t been repealed; return cannot be earned without risk. No thank you, Mr. Investment Banker. Piss off.” Many–way too many–did not. Piggy, piggy, piggy.
There are indeed clear statutory guidelines for what constitutes fraud. That, or any other crime, should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Hang ‘em high, I say.
But at the same time, I would like to remind everyone of two little words of wisdom, whether you are considering buying an ice cream cone, a condo in Miami, or a Series F Double Rotating CDO-squared: Caveat Emptor.
In my book, at least, a consenting adult should not have the gall to scream rape after they find out their partner was lousy in bed. Outing him or her on Facebook or Twitter, on the other hand, may be just fine.
In response to those two little words, I have 3:
10. b. 5.
Posted by: Bloix | July 10, 2009 at 01:34 AM