Be interesting to know what percentage of equity and what percentage of liquidity Comm Bank and the like have compared to the customer deposits they have on balance Edit: Quick google got me comm bank's 2013 annual report which states 'Deposits and other public borrowings' $459,429,000. Dunno what public borrowings are but I guess this is the customer deposits. 'Cash and liquid assets' $20,634,000. This must be their cash on hand 20,634,000 divided by 459,429,000 = 4.4% liquidity! In other words F#@% all Total assets are $753,876,000 Total liabilities are $708,384,000 which give them equity of $45,492,000. This means their % of equity to their assets (which in turn means how much they can afford to lose) is a ridiculous 6% I hope I've got that right feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. On the plus atleast Commbank is healthier than his calculations for JP Morgan :/
Does it matter whether it's the government or the banks choosing the directors? If it was the government picking them the politician's would just get the requisite "campaign contribution" and the big banks would get their way anyway. It's the fact that the Fed has government powers that is the problem. Without the power to print, it would be pretty much harmless.
