re: #187 jvic

Don’t insist on a banker if you see a politician first.

In addition to their hubris about managing risk, the bankers thought they were facilitating what the politicians (Left and Right) wanted done. They did not expect to be singled out as scapegoats.

They should have checked with the tobacco industry.

It’s an interesting comparison, since the bankers created products designed to harm the buyer and marketed them deceptively. They solicited inaccurate ratings and accepted them, advertised their own small buy in as a loss leader while hiding their much stronger hedge position on failure.

I don’t think they were really doing “what the politicians (Left and Right) wanted done” though, even if they thought they were. For one thing, only one side was pushing deregulation, and continues to push it today.