Jefferson County Alabama Update
I have talked repeatedly about the lack of transparency and how banks have fought to achieve this environment. Why have they fought to achieve this environment? In very simple terms, a lack of transparency allows banks to do whatever they want. That includes charging fees clients don't know about and, frankly, charging whatever they want in many instances.
An example of lack of transparency anyone can relate to is how Consumer Reports transformed the car buying process as an innovator in providing full disclosure to consumers. Before transparency existed, auto dealers could and did charge whatever they wanted. Not only for the purchase but hidden dealer costs and financing costs. I'm sure a raft of consumer protection laws now exist in this process but imagine if you wanted to acquire and finance an automobile or a home today and there was no transparency into the process. What if you were to buy a house but didn't know the purchase price or a breakdown of the fees? The only thing you knew was a bottom line amount inclusive of whatever fees were deemed appropriate by those setting the fees and controlling the process. Or if the process was so complicated that you were told just to trust the people in the process to look out for your best interests. And, let's say there was no choice in the matter because there was no transparent central clearing house for the purchasing process as there is now. A process that promotes confidence by transparency to the benefit of all parties.
Bloomberg Markets has a story titled The Fleecing of Alabama: The Bills Come Due. If you want to see how lack of transparency into markets has impacted Americans in ways not even imagined by most, I would encourage you to read this article. It is an excellent piece of journalism. This isn't confined to Jefferson County but as you will read is being investigated nationwide by government agencies as there appears to be potential collusion across the country.
This is an example of earnings-at-risk or many bank-related earnings that are gone forever as I again mentioned a few posts ago. Banks are alleged to have charged fees above market rates while not disclosing them to their clients. In the Jefferson County situation alone it appears overcharging of fees amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. The amount nationwide could amount to untold billions and billions of dollars as there are surely many circumstances similar to the Jefferson County fiasco. There is no doubt government should and will force transparency into the process and markets and these "earnings", if you want to call them that, will be gone forever.
An example of lack of transparency anyone can relate to is how Consumer Reports transformed the car buying process as an innovator in providing full disclosure to consumers. Before transparency existed, auto dealers could and did charge whatever they wanted. Not only for the purchase but hidden dealer costs and financing costs. I'm sure a raft of consumer protection laws now exist in this process but imagine if you wanted to acquire and finance an automobile or a home today and there was no transparency into the process. What if you were to buy a house but didn't know the purchase price or a breakdown of the fees? The only thing you knew was a bottom line amount inclusive of whatever fees were deemed appropriate by those setting the fees and controlling the process. Or if the process was so complicated that you were told just to trust the people in the process to look out for your best interests. And, let's say there was no choice in the matter because there was no transparent central clearing house for the purchasing process as there is now. A process that promotes confidence by transparency to the benefit of all parties.
Bloomberg Markets has a story titled The Fleecing of Alabama: The Bills Come Due. If you want to see how lack of transparency into markets has impacted Americans in ways not even imagined by most, I would encourage you to read this article. It is an excellent piece of journalism. This isn't confined to Jefferson County but as you will read is being investigated nationwide by government agencies as there appears to be potential collusion across the country.
This is an example of earnings-at-risk or many bank-related earnings that are gone forever as I again mentioned a few posts ago. Banks are alleged to have charged fees above market rates while not disclosing them to their clients. In the Jefferson County situation alone it appears overcharging of fees amounted to hundreds of millions of dollars. The amount nationwide could amount to untold billions and billions of dollars as there are surely many circumstances similar to the Jefferson County fiasco. There is no doubt government should and will force transparency into the process and markets and these "earnings", if you want to call them that, will be gone forever.
<< Home