As
Obama Proposes Goldman De-Bank and Liability Cap, of Dodd and BofA's
Evasions
By
Matthew R. Lee
NEW
YORK, January 21 -- Two hours before President Barack Obama unveiled
additions to his financial reform proposals, limiting the mix of
banking and proprietary trading and setting a cap on liabilities and
not only deposits, several of his senior officials briefed the press.
They
were relentlessly "on message," emphasizing how
comprehensive the package is, how they are "working with Senator
Dodd" without mentioning that he will not run for re-election.
They
repeatedly referred to the proposed Consumer Financial Protection
Agency (or "Consumer Protection Agency," as one of them
called it), without address that Dodd himself is said to be moving
away from the proposal, eager some say to have his name on a bill,
any bill.
The
new proposals would, by barring a company that owns a bank from forms
of proprietary trading or owning, investing in or advising a private
equity or hedge fund, seem to require Goldman Sachs and Morgan
Stanley to de-bank. Two questions directly raised Goldman, but the
senior administration officials dodged both of them. One asked if the
timing of the announcement is tied to Goldman's release of earnings.
This was denied.
A
second proposal, not clearly spelled out in the briefing, would set a
cap on liabilities similar to the 10% deposit cap ostensibly in place
since 1994. That cap has been evaded. As South Bronx based Fair
Finance Watch and Inner City Press have repeatedly shown, Bank of
America has been at or over the cap but still allowed to make
acquisitions.
Bank of America, evading the cap, new proposals and
Dodd not shown
B
of A simply reduces the visible level of deposits by pricing, and
then picked them up afterwards. The regulators helped evade the cap
by including deposits outside of the United States in the denominator
calculating the 10%. Why would this be any different?
* * *
For IMF, Canceling Haiti's Debt is Medium Term Goal,
Outcome Uncertain, UN's IFAD, Venezuela and Taiwan Are Creditors
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, January 21 -- While the IMF's Managing Director Dominique
Strauss-Kahn rushed out a statement that the "IMF is now working
with all donors to try to delete all the Haitian debt," on
Thursday morning his spokesperson Caroline Atkinson called this a
"medium range" goal.
She
emphasized
that Strauss-Kahn cannot predict how the IMF board will vote, when it
meets next week. She mentioned the outstanding bilateral loan to
Haiti of Venezuela, but not Taiwan's reported $92 million loan.
Taiwan is of particular interest in light of mainland China's
dispatch to Haiti of a 125 member "riot squad" fomed police
unit, a senior delegation there on the day of the earthquake, and a
search and rescue team the day after.
Among
Haiti's
creditors is the UN system's International Fund for Agricultural
Development. Even as the UN has done into "Haiti only" mode
for the past nine days, there's been no talk of canceling the UN's
own loans to Haiti.
Strauss-Kahn's
"Marshall Plan" comments have been portrayed by some
progressives -- or "anti-poverty" activists, as one
reporter at the IMF's January 21 briefing phrased it -- as a victory
for online activism. But Strauss-Kahn's grand statement may mean
less than first appeared.
Inner
City Press
submitted several questions to the IMF during its January 21
briefing, held in a new broadcast center, about Haiti as well as
Romania, Iceland and Serbia. While Ms. Aktinson read out and at least
purported to respond to Inner City Press' Romania question, this
Haiti question was ignored:
The
M-D has said "IMF is now
working with all donors to try to delete all the Haitian debt."
What exactly is the IMF doing, with the IADB, IFAD, Venezuela and
Taiwan? When does the IMF anticipate canceling its $265 million in
loans?
Do any of the past conditions apply to the first $165 million?
The IMF has in the past provided same day
written responses to
questions submitted but not answered at its bi-weekly briefing. That
should be done today. Watch this site.
Haitian ministry
Two other unanswered questions are, "Please
state the relation between the Icesave referendum and the IMF's
consideration of Iceland."
"In
Serbia, National Bank of Serbia governor Radovan Jelasic has said
that restrictions on raises are in connection with the IMF. True?"
Note that on the IMF's outstanding $165 million
loan to Haiti,
reportedly the conditions included restrictions on public sector pay
raises, and lifting the price of electricity.
* * *
At
UN on Haiti, Ban Dodges on Immigration, Armenians Rebuffed, No Copter
Update
By
Matthew Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS, January 19 -- As the UN
Security Council voted to authorize
3500 more peacekeepers for Haiti, including 1500 more police,
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on member states to step forward
with offers of troops.
Inner City Press asked about the Dominican
Republic's offer of a battalion, said to number 800, and whether Ban
and the UN think that countries should be less stringent with their
immigration restrictions after the Haitian earthquake.
Mr.
Ban replied by
praising the Dominican Republic for its troop offer -- which some see
as simply blue helmeting a border guarding force -- and for its help
with the humanitarian effort. He is aware, he said, of the Dominican
Republic's attempt to accommodate Haitians within the Republic's
"rules and regulations."
Inner
City Press
asked Ban about reports that the UN had run out of fuel for its
trucks to deliver aid. Top humanitarian John Holmes passed a note to
Ban Ki-moon, who read out that last night 10,000 gallons of fuels had
arrived.
When
Holmes himself
took to the custom made podium brought out for Ban Ki-moon, Inner
City Press asked him about a reported complaint
by Armenia's Mission
to the UN, that they had offered a rescue team last Thursday but were
never told of any UN acceptance or decision.
Holmes
replied that he
was unaware, but that there are always issues of matching needs with
offers. But from member states?
Inner
City Press,
which reported
exclusively Monday evening about what UN sources said
was a helicopter crash in Haiti, asked chief Peacekeeper Alain
Leroy
for an update. I've seen those reports, he said, but I have no new
information this morning. He said to ask Edmond Mulet, who will be
appearing later on Tuesday by video link from Haiti.
UN's Ban and former spokeswoman, answers on
immigration not shown
The
Ambassador of
China Zhang Yesui, this month's
Security Council president, came out at announced
the Council's vote. While usually he leaves the stakeout without
taking any questions -- on Monday he walked away as Inner City Press
asked about the attacks in Afghanistan -- this time he called on
Xinhua, and offered a long answer on camera, in Chinese. It concerned
the UN's role in responding to Haiti.
Asked
if China
would offer any more troops -- its 125 member contingent is, as Inner
City Press has reported, a "riot squad" that when rotated
has flown back to Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region -- Zhang
Yesui said it
would be taken under advisement.
The
last speaker at
the stakeout was U.S. Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff, who came
prepared with an answer to Inner City Press' question
of Monday,
whether the $100 million of aid announced by President Barack Obama
would be part of the UN's flash appeal.
No,
Ambassador Wolff said,
the $100 million is "bilateral." But he said that the US
will be contributing generously to the UN's flash appeal, in the
coming days. We'll see.
Footnote:
because the UN and even Security Council has become all Haiti, all
the time for now, Inner City Press asked the U.S.'s Alejandro Wolff
about reports of bombing in Darfur, requests to protect civilians,
and Chad's statement it does not want the mandate of the Darfur
related MINURCAT peacekeeping mission renewed. Wolff said the U.S.
is concerned and is seeking more information. Inner City Press has
asked the UN too, and hopes to be able to write more on this topic
shortly. Watch
this site.
From
the UN's January 19 transcript:
Inner
City Press: Mr. Secretary-General, the Dominican Republic has offered
a battalion – it has been said publicly – they’ve also said
that they are very concerned about immigration and people crossing
the border. Does the UN have anything to say whether countries
should loosen their immigration restrictions on Haitians, or
otherwise, after this crisis? And also, does the UN still have gas to
run its trucks? There was a report in USA Today that the UN was
running out of gas for its food distribution trucks.
SG Ban
Ki-moon: From the beginning of this crisis, the Dominican Republic
Government has been providing very generously and swiftly all
possible assistance to their neighbouring country, Haiti, and we are
very much grateful to them. I am also aware of the Dominican
Republic’s intention to dispatch troops there - that is also
welcome. For the immigration issues, I am also aware that the
Dominican Republic Government is trying to accommodate as many as
possible, those people within the existing rules and regulations of
their country, but they have been very generous. Of course, this
fuel is quite limited in Haiti. Ten thousand gallons of fuel, I
think, arrived last night from the Dominican Republic. That will
help more, as we continue our operations.
, 
