Sunday, March 15, 2009

Madoff's Willing Executioners

Michael Hiltzik:

What hasn't been widely reported is that Markopolos also pointed the finger at numerous eminent financial institutions, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co., suggesting that their option-trading bosses almost certainly knew that Madoff's strategy was a sham. Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch reportedly warned some clients not to invest with Madoff. Yet none alerted the SEC or warned the investing public, at least not forcefully enough to get Madoff shut down before his scheme buckled under its own weight. JPMorgan Chase Chairman James Dimon groused in a speech last week that bankers were being unfairly "vilified" for the financial crisis. Let's hear him defend his firm's silence in this case.
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