Banking giant Credit Suisse has admitted to “knowingly and willfully” helping thousands of U.S. clients hide income and assets from the IRS.
But while the bank will pay $2.6 billion in a settlement, it will not be forced to reveal the names of the clients who cheated on their taxes and no one at the bank will go to jail, despite admitting to criminal charges.
Neil Barofsky, former inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), tells Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson that banks are still too big, and the same incentives that led to the financial crisis are still there.
“It’s just a question of when, not if,” for the next financial crisis, Barofsky said. “You can’t look at fundamental broken incentives in the financial system and not come to the conclusion other than we are headed down the same dangerous path that culminated in the explosion of 2008.”
Guest
- Neil Barofsky, former inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). He’s a partner at Jenner & Block law firm and author of “Bailout: An Inside Account of How Washington Abandoned Main Street While Rescuing Wall Street.” He tweets @neilbarofsky.
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