New Report: Federal Government is Not Showing Leadership on Prosecuting Bankers

Washington, DC -- The Institute for America's Future just released a new report by Bart Dzivi, former Special Counsel to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, focusing on the federal government's legal response to the financial crisis and the particularly the statutes of limitations available to bring legal claims against financial institutions for their role in the crisis:

The report, Rhetoric or Resources: it's Time To Get Serious, is one of the first detailed examinations of the Administration's process on prosecuting financial crimes, and assessments of how legal statutes could preclude prosecutions. There are some serious concerns that the window of opportunity is closing to bring legal claims against financial institutions and their employees for their role in the crisis. (See Sunday's New York Times editorial, "Still No Justice For Mortgage Abuses.")

In "Rhetoric or Resources," Dzivi argues that the federal government has so far failed to show the leadership needed to address the fraud that led to the economic crisis that began in 2008. Instead, there is a lack of resources, weak oversight and poor coordination among agencies. Perhaps most important, the government’s work “lacks a sense of urgency,” despite the fact that the statues of limitations are expiring for many potential claims.

The report examines:
• How the behavior of many senior managers leading to the financial crisis likely goes “beyond simple greed to criminality.”
• Avenues for legal claims of fraud in the sale of MBS and CDOs
• Federal regulators’ pursuit of the wrong “small fry” individuals who “are not the actors who brought this country to its knees”
• The government’s more aggressive approach in the savings & loan crisis, which resulted in prison time for 3,700 insiders and executives
• Statutes of limitations for crisis-related lawsuits
• Why fines against financial institutions that amount to “decimal dust” must be increased
• Why the Residential Mortgage Backed Securities Task Force urgently needs more resources.

Rhetoric or Resources is available online: http://www.ourfuture.org/report/prosecuting-lawless-bankers

About Bart Dzivi:
Bart Dzivi is an attorney with more than 25 years of experience representing financial institutions and corporations on complex financial matters. Mr. Dzivi served as Special Counsel to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in 2009 and 2010, advising the Chairman on the Commission's operations and assisting in investigations of major financial institutions and banking agencies. During the 1980s savings and loan crisis, Dzivi served as as counsel for the Federal Home Loan Bank, where he handled enforcement matters and supervised investigative auditors. Previously he was counsel to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, where he organized investigative hearings on savings and loan issues.

The Institute for America’s Future is a center of nonpartisan research and education devoted to shaping a compelling progressive agenda and message. The education arm of the Campaign for America's Future works to foster new thinking and bold reforms on such kitchen-table concerns as the availability of good jobs, affordable health care, accessible higher education, retirement security, improved public infrastructure, living wages, healthy workplaces, safe food, fair trade and clean energy.