In Europe, Banks Borrow Money and Lend it Back to the Government

Talk about scams... Elliot Spitzer is back in the news. Speaking to MSNBC, the disgraced crime-fighter described the Fed as a "Ponzi scheme":

"You look at the governing structure of the New York [Federal Reserve], it was run by the very banks that got the money. This is a Ponzi scheme, an inside job. It is outrageous, it is time for Congress to say enough of this. And to give them more power now is crazy.

"The Fed needs to be examined carefully."

Poor Spitzer resigned as governor of New York in March 2008. At the time, he had been warning about sub-prime mortgage loans. Some think the feds found a way to silence him - by revealing that he had a bad habit...$1,000-an-hour hookers.

Investigative reporters maintain that federal enforcement officials had the option of leaving Spitzer out of the news. Instead, the Bush Administration Justice Department decided to out Spitzer.

The former NY Attorney General had this to say about regulatory reform:

"Regulatory agencies already had the power to do everything they needed to do," he said. "They just affirmatively chose not to do it."

Stimulus is a scam - on both sides of the Atlantic.

In Europe the banks have a good hustle going - almost as good as in the United States. They borrow money from the European central bank and then lend it back to the government.

The ECB loans money at low rates to the banks - hoping to encourage consumer and business lending. In June, for example, the banks borrowed 442 billion euros at a fixed interest rate of 1%. But lending to business and households is at its lowest level since record-keeping began - and slowing down, says James Saft in the International Herald Tribune.

In May, Europe's money supply grew at a 3.5% annual rate, he notes. But lending to the private sector in June slowed to 1.5% from 1.8% a month earlier. Loans to nonfinancial corporations actually fell in May, while lending to households grew at less than 1%.

If they didn't lend the money out...what did they do with it? Well, they did lend it - back to the people they borrowed it from. In June the banks bought $75 billion worth of government bonds and lent nearly $30 billion directly to European governments.

Of course, the banks are doing well. They earn money without taking the risk of lending to the real economy. But what good does it do? None.

Bill Bonner
for The Daily Reckoning Australia

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