Sen. Shelby is right to be skeptical, and these companies have a long way to go before people should feel confident in them, as I have stated before. Name changes and some small fines are not enough (remember, Citigroup Global Markets is just a new name on the corrupt Saloman Smith Barney). In Shelby’s words:
“I believe that the Wall Street culture must change from the top down, and I am not convinced that the (settlement) has done enough to change attitudes at the top” of the big investment firms, Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., the committee’s chairman, said at a hearing called to examine the accord. “Without holding executives and CEOs personally accountable for the wrongdoing that occurred under their watch, I do not believe that Wall Street will change its ways or that investor confidence will be restored.”
There is a one word solution for this problem- handcuffs. When corrupt executives ruin peoples lives and finances, they deserve to be locked up like rats.