“What Geithner does not want the public to understand, his “dirty little secret”, is that the repeal of Glass-Steagall and the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act in 2000 allowed the creation of a tiny handful of banks that would virtually monopolize key parts of the global “off-balance sheet” or OTC derivatives issuance.
Today, five US banks, according to data in the just-released Federal Office of Comptroller of the Currency’s Quarterly Report on Bank Trading and Derivatives Activity, hold 96% of all US bank derivatives positions in terms of nominal values, and an eye-popping 81% of the total net credit risk exposure in event of default.
The top three are, in declining order of importance: JPMorgan Chase, which holds a staggering $88 trillion in derivatives; Bank of America with $38 trillion, and Citibank with $32 trillion. Number four in the derivatives sweepstakes is Goldman Sachs, with a mere $30 trillion in derivatives; number five, the merged Wells Fargo-Wachovia Bank, drops dramatically in size to $5 trillion. Number six, Britain’s HSBC Bank USA, has $3.7 trillion. “
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/KD03Dj02.html
These numbers are from 2009. Presently the top five US banks are on the hook for over 250 trillion in credit derivative exposure.
BTW..is it any wonder they’re becoming terrified of free speech and the right to associate freely?
Had an interesting occurance this week... a businessman using his American Express for four purchasing transactions on our company terminal, each amounting to about $300-$400 dollars. During the third transaction his bank ‘stopped’ the transaction “at the terminal”...I could go no further even though it was our companies terminal...not his banks.
Though American Express called him on his cell phone in minutes to of course qualify it was he making those large purchases,.... what was astounding is that this mans bank had access to ‘our companies terminal’ to hault the transaction physically at the terminal site itself.
I could not continue the transaction until his bank released the “screen”..which they basically froze...
Of course they did release it once confirmed he was the card holder making the purchases....but the idea is that a bank could somehow stop this on our companies terminal.
It will be no wonder then that a One World Currency and Economic System could indeed monitor and ‘control purchases’ of any kind, at any companies terminal, and anywhere in the world.