Citigroup & Bank of America, in Today's News 06.05.09

Citigroup and Bank of America.  Boy, it sure doesn't pay to get on the wrong side of the owners of the world's wealth-generating machine. They are relentless and without conscience. Ever since the beginning of the economic crisis, a campaign has been waged against Citigroup and its chief officer Vikran Pandit, and against Bank of American and its chief officer Kenneth Lewis. Today's news shows that the campaign is far from over.

(Why these two banks have been targeted remains murky. The cryptocracy is the CRYPTocracy because secrecy is its mode of operation and it never reveals its true aims to the public. Perhaps in these cases, one group of families is trying to make a grab for the banks by changing the executive structure to better reflect the families' interests. Who knows? In contrast Jamie Dimon, the chief officer of JP Morgan Chase & Co seems to be blessed and can do no wrong. He and his bank face no campaign to get them whatsoever.)

Citigroup. WSJ: "The Federal Desposit Insurance Corp. is pushing for a shake-up of Citigroup Inc.'s top management, imperiling Chief Executive Vikram Pandit, people familiar with the matter said." Moreover, Sheila Blair, Chair of the FDIC recently pressed a fellow regulator to the lower the government's confidential ranking of Citi's health. And moreover, "Federal officials have reached out to Jerry Grundhofer, the former U.S. Bancorp CEO who recently joined the Citigroup's board, to gauge his interest in the top [Citigroup] job..."  

Citigroup can't catch a break. The powers-that-be are still out to break Citigroup despite the bank's extensive efforts to shrink the bank and clean up any perceived problems. Citigroup even performed better than expected on the Federal Reserve's (read Rothschild's) 'stress test.'

One complication for Pandit is his wild battle with Blair over Citigroup's failed effort to buy Wachovia Corp. It took a while for Pandit to realize he can't win such a battle. He sought to smooth things over, but it looks like his gesture is too late.

Bank of America. "Bank of America Corp. Chief Risk Officer Amy Woods Brinkley and director Robert Tillman are leaving the bank amid a U.S.-mandated review, casting the spotlight once again on the government's role in decision making at the lender." Moreover, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing, summoning CEO Lewis to testify. "People familiar with the [congressional] probe have said investigators are focusing on possible discrepancies between Mr. Lewis's public statements, his testimony to New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and what he told Bank of America's board." And moreover, "...federal regulators are pressuring [Bank of America] to improve its governance and management following a recent stress test showing a need for $33.9 billion in new equity as a buffer against future loses."

If Kenneth Lewis hasn't received the message yet that the cryptocracy is out for his scalp, he better learn fast.  It looks like the dogs of war have been called out to go after Lewis and the BoA.

If all these machinations remind anyone of the behavior in the Soviet Union's leading circles, their recollections are correct.  The Obama administration, carrying out the mandate of the cryptocracy, has taken giant steps to establish a government-run economy, very similar to Soviet Union.  Individual corporations, be it banks, auto companies, or insurance companies, are no longer free to govern themselves.  All major decisions now have to meet the approval of the government's central planners.  (In this regard the Obama administration today announced they are about to appoint a pay Czar, a "Special Master for Compensation.")

The American public, whether they know it or not, now finds itself in a totally new reality.  Soviet-style bureaucracy and central planning are now an established part of American life.