Even though deciding which TBTF is the worst is like a having an ugly
contest between Cinderella’s sisters, Wells Fargo may deserve pride of
place. Yes, the Vampire Squid sorta owns the government. JP Morgan has
too many people believing it didn’t need a bailout during the crisis.
Ahem, what about a $76 trillion derivatives clearing operation don’t you
understand? If AIG or Morgan Stanley had failed post Lehman, JPM would
have been next. And it is the most aggressive bank I have come across in the “gotcha” fees and bait and switch as far as retail customers are concerned.
But Wells is sanctimonious and too often has taken the position that
it is less badly behaved than other banks, which grates on me. It has played fast and loose with its balance sheet reporting, and has lied to Congressional staffers, claiming it hadn’t engaged in robo signing when there were depositions in the public domain to the contrary.
