For the government not to go a step further and prosecute was “beyond obscene,” said Bill Black, a former U.S. regulator for the Office of Thrift Supervision who now teaches at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
“Regulators are telling us, ‘Yes, they’re felons, they’re massive felons, they did it for years, they lied to us, and they made a lot of money … and they got caught red-handed and they’re gonna walk.’”
Black disputed the government’s concern that indicting HSBC could take down the financial system.
“That’s the logic that we get stability by leaving felons in charge of our largest banks,” he said. “This is insane.”
