The Shame of TD Bank’s Jolly Bankers

Jim Hightower's Lowdown

Woody Guthrie satirized Depression-era bankers who routinely gouged farmers and poor people. “I’m a jolly banker, jolly banker am I,” Woody sang, about the joyful lenders who profiteered on people’s misery.

Woody’s song could be sung today by Bharat Masrani, CEO of the TD Bank empire. Investigative digger reports that Masrani has long profited from a jolly scheme by his bank to launder $670 million in drug money from criminal networks. Federal prosecutors found that top TD bankers knew they were engaged in illegal drug dealing, but—shhhh—they “chose profits over [legal] compliance.”

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So – POW! – The Feds socked it to TD Bank with a $3 billion fine. That’ll teach ‘em… right?

No. Banks don’t commit crimes; bankers do. But pointedly, none of TD Bank’s top officials were charged with the crimes they committed or sanctioned. Masrani, who now admits his culpability, simply says, “I apologize.”

That’s it. He faces no consequences! He got $10 million in pay last year – and no one even says: Give it back. Also, he’s now retiring but expects to get a multimillion-dollar farewell package and become a paid consultant for the bank. How is this supposed to deter other bank honchos from turning criminal?

Meanwhile, even though the bank must shovel out three billion Big Ones for its executives’ illegalities, that’s no deterrent to executive criminality. Banks today reap such excessive profits that losing $3-billion is just written off as the cost of doing business – freeing executives to create new ways to rig the system for their own profit.

This is Jim Hightower saying… The message to us commoners is plain: “Do the crime, and you’ll do the time – unless you’re a jolly banker.”

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