Another day, another bank sector scandal
The arrest of the anti-water charges folk, including Socialist Party TD Paul Murphy and two other elected representatives, could not have come at a worse possible time. That it took six gardaí to go to his house at seven in the morning beggars belief.
That this show of force took place the day we got to hear of another alleged tax avoidance and evasion scam by HSBC Bank helps to support the protesters’ position for the reason behind the hated water charges.
Very many people have reconciled themselves to the fact that water charges are here to stay. The problem, now, is that the Government has taken any element of conservation out of the charge.
That may well lead to increased taxes given that the network must be upgraded and water conserved.
The EU may not be satisfied that the revised conditions and charges meet the necessary criteria to be kept off the State’s balance sheet.
To see, once again, that a bank, HSBC, and its senior management appear to have gotten away with blue murder is pouring salt on an already bitter wound.
From most people’s perspectives, the banks were the primary cause of the collapse of our economy. Sure, they were supported by weak, incompetent, and possibly even crooked politicians, regulators, and greedy developers, but that does not lighten the load that the banks should, and must, carry.
The banks piled money on those willing to take it without due regard for the borrowers’ ability to pay. Now that payback time has arrived, the banks are behaving ruthlessly in trying to recover their loans.
HSBC was caught red-handed supporting tax evasion and avoidance on a grand scale. While several of our EU neighbours felt it right to go after the bank, both Ireland and England couldn’t seem to find grounds to go to court.
However, the various revenue collectors seem to have no problem going after the depositors. It’s unfortunate that the banks, our own included, have been caught time and again playing ducks and drakes with the law. We should not be surprised when some get so angry that they feel it necessary to seek to punish those who, by their actions, seem to regard the banks and the holders of capital as sacrosanct.
The simple fact is that the banks worldwide have played fast and loose with the law.
The individual who thought he could hide a few bob gets caught and stripped of his assets by the various revenue collectors. The banks get fined but no individual suffers. No doubt they will subsequently recover the fines by charging higher fees.
It’s a case of heads I win, harps you lose.
In the US in 2011, the Internal Revenue Service agreed to not charge individuals if the same bank paid a fine amounting to $1.2bn for other financial wrongdoings. Even the ultra-capitalist US is now considering withdrawing this ‘get out of jail free’ card following the latest revelations.
The movie The International is a fictional account of the criminal activities of one of the world’s most powerful banks. The investigators, played by Clive Owen and Naomi Watts, uncover myriad illegal activities including money laundering, arms trading, and the destabilisation of governments, and seek to bring those at the top of the bank to justice. The investigators put their own lives at risk as the bank will stop at nothing — even murder — to continue financing terror and war.
That’s fiction, right? Our banks, or the HSBCs of this world, couldn’t be doing anything like that, could they?
More and more of us are beginning to believe that there are those in this world who will do whatever it takes to maximise their own return, irrespective of who gets hurt and who has to die.
Someone somewhere has to call stop. We should never forget that these folk are simply men, and they are mainly men, most of whom have feet of clay.
A crime is a crime, irrespective of the value and irrespective of the colour of your shirt. The result should be the same. Stand up anyone who is willing to make that happen.
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