13 Bankers: The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown — INTRODUCTION

1. 1. President Obama told bank CEOs in 2009 that he was standing between them and the pitchforks.
2. 2. The financial crisis wiped out $11 trillion in household wealth and cost 8 million jobs.
3. 3. Brooksley Born, as CFTC chair in the late 1990s, warned that unregulated over-the-counter derivatives could cause a financial meltdown.
4. 4. Alan Greenspan argued in 1997 that government regulation of derivatives was unnecessary because private counterparty surveillance was sufficient.
5. 5. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 ensured that credit default swaps and other OTC derivatives remained unregulated.
6. 6. By 2009, the six largest U.S. bank holding companies had assets equivalent to 60% of GDP, up from 20% in 1983.
7. 7. Goldman Sachs reported $3.2 billion in profit for the third quarter of 2009, on track for record compensation.