Known as the “Ending Too Big to Jail Act,” the execs would have to certify that they conducted due diligence
Legislation that would hold executives of big banks criminally accountable when banks break the law has been introduced in the Senate.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) introduced the “Ending Too Big to Jail Act” amid efforts in the Senate to loosen rules for biggest banks in the country. The bill would create a permanent law enforcement unit to investigate crimes at financial institutions, requires senior executives at banks with $10 billion or more in assets to certify annually that they have conducted due diligence and found no criminal conduct or civil fraud within the financial institution, and mandate judicial oversight of deferred prosecution agreements (DPAs).
"When Wall Street CEOs break the law, they should go to jail like anyone else. The fraud on Wall Street won't stop until executives know they will be hauled out in handcuffs for cheating their customers and clients," Warren said. "Instead of passing the Bank Lobbyist Act, Congress should be marking the tenth anniversary of the financial crisis by strengthening rules on banks and bankers so Wall Street can never again get away with cheating Americans and crashing the economy."
“Ten years ago today, the Federal Reserve announced action to try to save Bear Stearns from failing, marking the beginning of a financial crisis that would cost the US economy as much as $14 trillion. Wall Street scams and risk-taking were a main driver of the crisis, but no senior executive from a Wall Street bank went to jail,” according to the release announcing the bill.
