Convicted of looting his businesses and customers of some $7 billion, at sentencing this swash-buckling corporate pirate trotted out a belief also expressed by Enron’s leadership after the mega-firm went belly-up thanks to fraudulent bookkeeping. Namely, things were basically fine, we were operating legally and only collapsed because malevolent prosecutors chose to cast us in such a bad light. R. Allen Stanford gets 110-year sentence for Ponzi scheme – Nation – MiamiHerald.com.
Category Archives: Corporate Crisis Unit
Capitalists and Other Psychopaths
Now this is thought-provoking. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/opinion/sunday/fables-of-wealth.html?smid=pl-share
Institutionalization–What’s That?
In my breakdown of organizational diseases, insitutionalization is a chronic, usually progressive, condition where a business or agency increasingly loses its focus on customers/clients as employees turn the organization’s energies more and more to their own benefit. I’ve not looked closely at this firm but that’s certainly the gist of what this Goldman Sachs resignee is saying. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/opinion/why-i-am-leaving-goldman-sachs.html
So We Lied
A big problem with the mortgage mess, which when revealed caused credit markets to seize up, was that so much information was unreliable. This is just one case. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/business/citigroup-to-pay-158-million-in-mortgage-fraud-settlement.html
Olympus Downfall
Here’s the formula Olympus execs relied on: Hide huge losses for years with bookkeeping tricks + fire new foreign CEO who figures it out + be contrite when caught but stay in charge. They’ve been arrested! Who’da’thunk?http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/17/business/global/7-arrested-in-olympus-accounting-cover-up.html
No There There–Again!
So, respected Japanese money management/investment firm can’t find most the $2.6 billion it’s handling for various pension funds. Japanese regulators think maybe the rules aren’t strong enough. Can’t wait to see how U.S. deregulation zealots react to such heresy, once they come up for air after torpedoing any sensible financial regulation here. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/business/global/japan-orders-aij-investment-advisors-to-suspend-operations.html
Big Harm, No Foul
“Nobody admits to anything” settlements accompanied by hundreds of millions in corporate payouts to “non-victims” have long stuck in my craw. Now judges are choking. About time. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/25/business/neither-admit-nor-deny-settlements-draw-judges-scrutiny.html
Fish or fowl? ‘In-between’ organizations
Living large at a quasi-public/quasi-private insurer of workers comp in Missouri. Such corporate style high-life draws outrage no matter how slim the government connection, witness Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac executive compensation. However, these executive salaries, perks, sports boxes and conferences at posh resorts are routine at private firms that issue insurance and finance mortages. STLToday.com: Missouri audit blasts state-sponsored insurer.
Fannie, Where’s My Mortgage?
Vast quantities of mortgage documentation flying every which way, from Fannie Mae to banks to successive mortgage servicers to foreclosure firms, often defying the ability of any participant to keep track, or even keep the paperwork legal. Didn’t matter. Homeowners got double-whammied by different holders of their home loan notes. Or collection and foreclosures moved forward with missing documentation and forged affidavits. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/05/business/mortgage-tornado-warning-unheeded.html
Culture Counts–Triple
Fly Southwest, then US Air. Which wins the “feel good” trophy? Forget the bag fees, it’s the culture. http://www.fastcompany.com/1810674/culture-eats-strategy-for-lunch