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In-Depth Interview: Bill Black and Bank Whistleblowers United Have a Detailed Plan to Clean Up Wall Street Corruption

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Bill Black, who was a major whistleblower during the 1980’s savings and loan financial crimes, explains that Wall Street can be cleaned up without new laws.Black is currently an Associate Professor of Economics and Law at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in the Department of Economics and the School of Law. He was the Executive Director of the Institute for Fraud Prevention from 2005-2007 and previously taught at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, and at Santa Clara University.[2]

Black was litigation director for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) from 1984 to 1986, deputy director of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) in 1987, and Senior VP and the General Counsel of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco from 1987 to 1989, which regulated some of the largest thrift banks in the U.S.

Teaming up with Citicorp whistleblower Richard Bowen, former Countrywide executive Michael Winston and former SEC lawyer Gary Aguirre, Black has formed Bank Whistleblowers United.  Get full details, and see their 19-point reform agenda here.

Black explains how the system was gamed by predatory lenders, bought-off ratings agencies, and bankers who rejected the cost of doing business legally.  We make a few references to the movie The Big Short and note that no bankers have faced investigation or punishment for the obvious wrongdoing.

While Black seems doubtful that Hillary Clinton will embrace their proposals, he thinks Bernie Sanders will, and hopes that President Obama will realize it’s not too late to prosecute criminal bankers.