Major Problems Announced At One Of The Largest Too Big To Fail Banks In The United StatesBy Michael Snyder There are six banks in America that basically dwarf all of the other banks JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs. If a single one of those banks were to fail, it would be a catastrophe of unprecedented proportions for our financial system. So we need these banks to be healthy and running well. That is why what we just learned about Wells Fargo is so concerning Employees of Wells Fargo (WFC) boosted sales figures by covertly opening the accounts and funding them by transferring money from customers authorized accounts without permission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and Los Angeles city officials said. An analysis by the San Francisco-headquartered bank found that its employees opened more than two million deposit and credit card accounts that may not have been authorized by consumers, the officials said. Many of the transfers ran up fees or other charges for the customers, even as they helped employees make incentive goals. Wells Fargo says that 5,300 employees have been fired as a result of this conduct, and they are promising to clean things up. Hopefully they will keep their word. It is interesting to note that the largest shareholder in Wells Fargo is Berkshire Hathaway, and Berkshire Hathaway is run by Warren Buffett. There has been a lot of debate about whether or not this penalty on Wells Fargo was severe enough, and it will be very interesting to hear what he has to say about this in the coming days One wonders whether a penalty of $100 million is enough, said David Vladeck, a Georgetown University law professor and former director of the Federal Trade Commissions Bureau of Consumer Protection. It sounds like a big number, but for a bank the size of Wells Fargo, it isnt really. After the last crisis, we were told that we would never be put in a position again where the health of a single too big to fail institution could threaten to bring down our entire financial system. But our politicians didnt fix the too big to fail problem. Instead it has gotten much, much worse. Back in 2007, the five largest banks held 35 percent of all bank assets. Today, that number is up to 44 percent Since 1992, the total assets held by the five largest U.S. banks has increased by nearly fifteen times! Back then, the five largest banks held just 10 percent of the banking industry total. Today, JP Morgan alone holds over 12 percent of the industry total, a greater share than the five biggest banks put together in 1992. Even in the midst of the global financial crisis, the largest U.S. banks managed to increase their hold on total bank industry assets. The assets held by the five largest banks in 2007 $4.6 trillion increased by more than 150 percent over the past 8 years. These five banks went from holding 35 percent of industry assets in 2007 to 44 percent today. Meanwhile, nearly 2,000 smaller institutions have disappeared from our financial system since the beginning of the last crisis. So the problem of too big to fail is now larger than ever. Considering how reckless these big banks have been, it is inevitable that one or more of them will fail at some point. When that takes place, it will make the collapse of Lehman Brothers look like a Sunday picnic. And with each passing day, the rumblings of a new financial crisis grow louder. For example, this week we learned that commercial bankruptcy filings in the United States in August were up a whopping 29 percent compared to the same period a year ago In August, US commercial bankruptcy filings jumped 29% from a year ago to 3,199, the 10th month in a row of year-over-year increases, the American Bankruptcy Institute, in partnership with Epiq Systems, reported today. Theres money to be made. While stockholders and some creditors get raked over the coals, lawyers make a killing on fees. And some folks on the inside track, hedge funds, and private equity firms can make a killing picking up assets for cents on the dollar. Companies are going bankrupt at a rate that we havent seen since the last financial crisis, but nobody seems concerned. Back in 2007 and early 2008, Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke, President Bush and a whole host of experts assured us that everything was going to be just fine and that a recession was not coming. Today, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Barack Obama and a whole host of experts are assuring us that everything is going to be just fine and that a recession is not coming. I hope that they are right. I really do. But there is a reason why so many firms are filing for bankruptcy, and there is a reason why so many Americans are getting behind on their auto loans. Our giant debt bubble is beginning to burst, and this is going to cause a tremendous amount of financial chaos. Let us just hope that the too big to fail banks can handle the stress this time around. Michael Snyder is a writer, speaker and activist who writes and edits his own blogs The American Dream and Economic Collapse Blog. Follow him on Twitter here. On this finite spaceship that we call Earth,it is physically impossible for stocks,banks,resources,or people to continue growing to infinity.Infinity itself is a word that is impossible to validate. Can you imagine the, (what must be), orgasmic joy of these swine in knowing they own, for a pittance, the government so completely they literally cannot be made to answer for their evil? All this and more for a mere 30 pieces of silver.. Yeah! But their return doesnt compare to the original 30 pieces of silver. Federal Prison for more than a few elected WDC clowns. Quit complaining Obama will help them out. Hey, maybe what they did in Canada for The best thing one can hope for is seeing banks fail miserably to such a degree that well banish ALL banks in the world. We dont need them! In December 2008, the US Government made a huge bonus payout to bank executives so theyd get their year end bonuses, all from Taxpayer dollars, despite the bankers being the same folks who had destroyed the American economy. In San Francisco, executives of Wells Fargo used their bonuses to purchase new $170,000 cars, new homes, new 2nd homes, new, new and new stuff because they were paid millions in bonuses. It was all fun money. In short, the bonuses were spent buying stuff, more stuff and sent the wrong message to the Wells Fargo executives, to Wells Fargo customers and to Wells Fargo employees who didnt share in the largesse. Clearly, Wells Fargo didnt tighten their belts and gain ethical integrity. On the contrary, Wells Fargo encouraged more fraudulent activity and harm against their customers. Who will get the $185 Million in penalties? Well said sir. I smell another money laundering schema. How to enrich yourself by giving the banks.While tax payers bust there butts for 6 months (maybe more) and these lowlife scum bags keep on thieving. Good, let it burn. A country boy can survive. I can provide for my family without banks. Not worried. thats kinda funny the employees are greedier that the bank they work for 