Bonus Time as Banks Pay Out £40 Billion

The world's biggest investment banks are expected to pay out more than $65bn (£40bn) in salaries and bonuses in the next two weeks, reinforcing the view that it is business as usual on Wall Street and in the City barely a year since the taxpayer bailout of the banking system.'

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Wells Fargo Bank Exec Borrows Forclosed Estate

Another day, another story of a banking executive making a boneheaded move. And this one seems too unbelievable to be true.

A Wells Fargo honcho in charge of foreclosures decided to make herself right at home in a $12 million Malibu beach house, moving in and throwing big parties soon after it had been surrendered to her bank, the Los Angeles Times reports after talking to neighbors.

What could make this story even more outrageous? How about a dash of Bernard Madoff? The former owners of the home were victims of Madoff's Ponzi scheme. They lost a fortune in the fraud, their real estate agent told the Times.

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One for you Richard!!!

Another Fraudulent Foreclosure

Queen’s Bank Ran £1bn Tax Dodge

THE Queen’s banker, Coutts, has been caught operating an unlawful £1 billion tax avoidance scheme for some of its wealthiest clients.

The scheme involved a Swiss-based investment trust that made a deliberate loss, allowing clients to make deductions from their UK tax bills.

About 300 Coutts customers have been forced to repay up to £400m in tax they had hoped to avoid after HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) ruled that the Castle Trust scheme had breached UK tax laws.

Many of the clients claim they were poorly advised and are planning to sue Coutts, which is owned by the state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland. It raises the prospect of ordinary taxpayers compensating some of Britain’s richest people.

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