Why Everyone Hates Banks (and Maybe with Good Reason)

Watching the Senate and then the House Financial Services Committee take turns publicly skewering Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf felt like witnessing a national sport. The intensity of the grilling made it seem like a Wells Fargo employee had personally wronged each politician on the panel. If I were Stumpf, I’d have resigned purely to avoid another round of congressional scolding. He’s already forfeited $41 million in compensation—but no one seems impressed.

Senator Elizabeth Warren is even calling for a criminal investigation. Now, the expectation that a CEO should be fully aware of micro-level misconduct across a massive organization is pretty unrealistic. Accountability is important, of course—but maybe not all the way at the top. (Okay, fine—his “eight is great” line was cringeworthy.)

I’m not defending Wells Fargo, but let’s be honest banks have done worse. For instance, California cut ties with Wells for a year over the scandal. Yet, the number one underwriter of municipal debt for the state? Citigroup. You know, the bank that paid:

• $7 billion for misleading investors during the financial crisis

• $425 million for manipulating Libor

• $2 billion+ for foreign exchange rigging

Compared to Citi, Wells’ $185 million penalty for opening unauthorized accounts looks almost quaint. Still, Wells hasn’t been innocent either—with a running total of $9.7 billion in fines since 2008. Citi tops that at $12.8 billion.

The bigger point here? This will all blow over until the next scandal erupts. Politicians will dust off their outrage, CEOs will give half-hearted apologies, and the public will pretend they didn’t already know that big banks keep finding new ways to play dirty.

Trump’s Economic “Policy”: Confusion Wrapped in a Suit

Jeff (yes, that Jeff) asked me the other day if I actually read the Financial Times. Fair question—he’s the one paying for it. He also pays for my Wall Street Journal subscription. Naturally, I dodged the conversation like a seasoned pro.

This one’s for you, Jeff.

When I write about Trump, it’s not because I’m for or against him—it’s because he makes it too easy. Whether it’s poor communication skills or just plain chaos, Trump often sounds like someone trying to wing it on a topic they skimmed ten minutes ago.

Case in point: an op-ed from one of his economic advisors in the Financial Times. The piece was like a whirlwind of incoherence—starting with interest rates, pivoting to currency manipulation, and ending with the gold standard. So, what do we learn about Trump’s economic policy?

Absolutely nothing.

It’s a masterclass in political double-speak. Does he want rates up or down? A strong dollar or a weak one? Back to the gold standard or not? The only clear takeaway: Trump knows things are happening in the economy. Some are good. Some are bad. And he has opinions. Somewhere in that mess was the value of my FT subscription.

Thanks again, Jeff.

T+3, T+2…T+Why Are We Still Doing This?

In case you’ve never heard of it, when you sell a stock, the trade doesn’t finalize right away. It takes three business days—a process brokers affectionately call “T+3.” Sell on Monday, get your money Thursday.

Why? Mostly because we’re still operating like it’s 1922.

I used to imagine some ancient Commodore 64 sitting in a dark vault, slowing down all trade settlements just enough to avoid crashing the entire economy. The real reason? Until recently, no one seriously questioned the three-day timeline.

Now, the SEC wants to cut it to two days. Are we getting new tech or bold legislative reform to make that happen?

Nope—they’re just saying it’ll take two days now. That’s the plan.

This is where blockchain enters the chat. It’s forced both finance and banking to take a long, uncomfortable look in the mirror. Instant, transparent, cost-effective transactions? Sounds great. But instead of a full revolution, we’ll probably land somewhere in the middle—slightly faster, slightly better, still pretty frustrating.

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