Let's have the American taxpayer bail out the foreign banks while we're at it
by We're Repugs and we Approve
Who's Pulling Strings for UBS?
Mon Sep 22, 2008 at 07:55:25 AM PDT
Here's a surprise:
The financial crisis that began in the United States spread to many corners of the globe. Now, the American bailout looks as if it is going global, too, a move that could raise its cost and intensify scrutiny by Congress and critics.
Foreign banks, which were initially excluded from the plan, lobbied successfully over the weekend to be able to sell the toxic American mortgage debt owned by their American units to the Treasury, getting the same treatment as United States banks....
The prospect of being locked out of the bailout set off alarm bells among chief executives of overseas banks whose American affiliates also hold distressed mortgage-related assets, like Barclays and UBS. The original text provided access to the $700 billion bailout for any financial institution based in the United States.
Sure, what the hell, let's have the American taxpayer bail out the foreign banks while we're at it. Gee, I wonder how foreign banks have enough sway with the administration to successfully lobby to be included in the bailout? Could it be their connections?
Since 2002, Gramm has been an executive with the U.S. operations of UBS, the giant Swiss Bank. An unintentionally hilarious interview with Gramm on the Wall Street Journal editorial page last week asserted that Gramm has "been a key instigator of some of the biggest money-making UBS deals of recent years." The interview was noteworthy not just for first-class butt-kissing, but for deliberately gliding over the avalanche of disasters in the past year that has turned UBS from a respected Swiss titan of discretion and risk management into a laughing stock.
Yup, McCain's BFF, economic guru, and registered lobbyist for UBS. What a coinky-dink.