Wall Street Influence By the Numbers
Wonder why the fight for consumer protections is so intense in the U.S. Senate? A look at some key numbers shows that the Wall Street lobbying machine is well-greased and still in strong running condition despite recent public scrutiny.
Thanks to Americans for Financial Reform for these figures.
The amount that the finance industry is spending every day to influence Congress.
The amount that the six big banks and their trade associations have spent on lobbying, trade association activity, and political contributions since the first major federal bailout of Bear Sterns in March 2008.
The number of government insiders turned lobbyists employed by the six big banks and their trade associations, including 202 former congressional staffers.
The number of hedge fund managers and Wall Street executives who met with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator John Cornyn, chair of the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, met with to plot strategy for killing real reform.
The cost of car loan interest rate overcharges to Americans every year. Dealers get kickbacks for charging buyers higher rates than they qualify for.
The total amount of tax-exempt Liberty Bonds, state and local tax breaks, and cash grants given to Goldman Sachs to build it's new $2.1 billion headquarters in New York City.
Goldman's first quarter profits, meaning it could have paid the total cost for its new building all by itself using just 2 months of its profits.
The percentage of Americans who hold a positive view of Goldman Sachs, according to a new poll from NBC and the Wall Street Journal.
The number of banks now under scrutiny in a federal criminal probe. The list now includes Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, and UBS.
The number of banks under scrutiny by the New York attorney general's office, in a probe examining whether the banks "duped" rating agencies by providing them with misleading information. The banks under investigation are Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Crédit Agricole, and Merrill Lynch (now owned by Bank of America).
The amount that anti-predatory lending laws can reduce foreclosure rates, according to a recent study. Unfortunately, some Senate Democrats are making a misguided push to preempt states from putting in place these and other consumer protections stronger than those in the Wall Street accountability bill.
