Citigroup was back in the news again last Tuesday when the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) reported that its banking unit, Citibank, was among the three banks with the highest average monthly complaints filed against it alleging credit card abuses. (The other two banks were Capital One and JPMorgan Chase.)
This is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Citigroup and its haloed Citibank.
On May 20, 2015, Citigroup’s banking division pleaded guilty to a criminal felony charge for foreign currency rigging following a decade of serial charges against the global behemoth. (See rap sheet below.) Instead of putting this incorrigible recidivist out of business, the Federal government has continued to allow its shady proclivities to be perpetuated against an unsuspecting public.
The U. S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, which incompetently oversees Citigroup as it takes on massive derivative risk and continues to fleece the public, saw fit to secretly funnel $2 trillion of loans into Citigroup’s collapsing carcass from 2007 to at least 2010 at almost zero interest rates. During that period, Citigroup was allowed to continue to charge double-digit interest rates on its credit cards and put struggling homeowners out on the street from its tricked-up mortgages. The $2 trillion in secret loans came on top of the publicly announced $45 billion in equity infusions and more than $300 billion in asset guarantees by the Federal government to keep this ethically-challenged institution alive.
This post was published at Wall Street On Parade By Pam Martens and Russ Marte.
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