How bad do banks have to get before we regulate them better?

First there was the 2008 financial, financial implosion of the banks that took place, nearly bringing down not just the nation's but nearly the world's economies, both, simultaneously.

Next we got Countrywide Financial cheating people out of millions or billions of dollars on their home mortgages with president, CEO and owner Angelo Mozilo getting away nearly scot-free.

Next up, we more recently had the Barclays Bank manipulation of the Libor interest rates, to our detriment and their benefit.

Fourth, we very recently--this past week--had Wells Fargo getting fined 175 million dollars for putting the financial screws to Blacks and Hispanics across the country.

Fifth, next, "Visa, MasterCard and major banks agreed to pay retailers at least $6 billion to settle a long-running lawsuit that alleged the card issuers conspired to fix the fees that stores pay to accept credit cards." Sick. We're being used and thrown to the dogs.

Now, we have JP Morgan saying yesterday that they lost not just 2 billion dollars but at least nearly 6 billion dollars--it may climb higher, they said--because they didn't have the proper people and procedures in place to protect their clients, themselves and the nation from this big a fleecing and scandal.

At what point do we recognize that we need to regulate banks better and more thoroughly?

Will it be when they collapse, completely?

Is that what it has to take?

Will we then have learned our lessons?

Do we have to wait that long?

Links: http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/sep/22/morganstanley.goldmansachs

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1877351_1877350_1877339,00.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/9398723/Barclays-manipulated-Libor-submissions-to-fit-in-with-the-crowd.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/09/elizabeth-magner-new-orleans-wells-fargo_n_1412412.html

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2012/07/13/jpmorgan-reports-second-quarter-profit-of-5-billion-down-9/

http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/07/13/9579/visa-mastercard-6b-settlement-over-card-fees?utm_source=iwatchnews&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=rss