Federal Reserve Board Members Gave Their Own Banks $4 Trillion in Bailouts

Thursday, June 14, 2012
Jeffrey Immelt and Barack Obama (AP Photo)
Following the 2008 financial crisis, the Federal Reserve provided more than $4 trillion in near zero-interest loans and other help to banks and businesses whose executives also served as directors for the national bank.
At least 18 current and former Fed regional bank directors had a direct stake in the trillion-dollar bailout given to teetering institutions, according to a report produced by the Government Accountability Office, but released by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont).
“This report reveals the inherent conflicts of interest that exist at the Federal Reserve,” Sanders said in a prepared statement. “At a time when small businesses could not get affordable loans to create jobs, the Fed was providing trillions in secret loans to some of the largest banks and corporations in America that were well represented on the boards of the Federal Reserve Banks.”
Sanders wants to end the potential conflicts of interest that come with having bank executives serving on the Fed’s boards. The senator introduced legislation in May that would prohibit banking industry and business executives from serving as directors of the Fed’s 12 regional banks.
To bolster his case, Sanders cited the example of Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase. A director of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York since 2007, Dimon was part of the Fed’s leadership when it approved $391 billion in emergency funds to JPMorgan Chase to help it through the Wall Street chaos.
In another example, Jeffrey Immelt, the CEO of General Electric, was a member of the New York Federal Reserve when it created the Commercial Paper Funding Facility, which then lent $16 billion to…General Electric.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
To Learn More:
Jamie Dimon Is Not Alone (Senator Bernie Sanders) (pdf)


Marie 6 years ago
Yes, but WHY? Why did they bail out their OWN banks? For a legitimate reason? Or to rule a little bit more of the world?
Phillip 7 years ago
you mean the board members gave their banks more of the tax payers money. those board or other members do not have honest money, it is stolen from us.
ESR 7 years ago
we are just pawns, to the elitist. we go where they tell us. we do what they want done, that we can go to jail for, but they don't. we pay their salaries, and their bailouts because we were not born with a silver spoon in our mouth. we are the pee-on's to put it mildly..... they come out and we praise their bullshit.... and say it's god-like for what they say and do, but what we are doing is giving them the shaft to stick up our ass and tell us which way to turn and say what's next?
Brewster 7 years ago
so then, how many billions of dollars (total) per year are given to jpm executives?
Geekoid 7 years ago
this happened in '07. why did you use a picture of president obama? tarp was created under then president bush.
Todd Heckert 7 years ago
this is bull crap.. where the hell is my bail out, i have supported this government since the first day i started working..i live paycheck to paycheck and just getting by...i have no retirement.. so i will be working till the day i die.. yet they give trillions to these bank and the banks give the ceo's million dollar bonuses...@#$king bull s@#t.
Jaime.. 7 years ago
im jus angry that i didnt get my cut .. theres supposeed to make sure i dont go broke either.. im a vet.. the b*st**ds.. to the guillotine with them...lololol
Jack Garrity 7 years ago
lets not forget how much money the senators who are in charge of regulating the banks are taking from the feckless bankers like jamie dimon. bernie sanders hasn't mentioned his pal chuck 'pass me the banker bucks" schumer and the rest of the clowns who fawned all over dimon at his latest senate hearing. i found it telling that he was braying that he mhad so much moneythat the bank didn't know what to do with it so they gambled it on synthetic derivatives instead of lending it to american business to employ us.

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