I would not have known, but when you think about it, it’s not surprising that over their history, banks have been a money losing enterprise:

He duly notes the key role banks had in the financial collapse and cites “one amazing statistic,” namely that “in the aggregate, banks have never made money over time.” Instead, “like the airlines, banks historically have seemingly made money hand over fist during good times, but they give it all back when the cycle turns.”

But he asks, “How many bankers suffer the same fate when it comes to their own personal financial affairs?” And the answer to that question, Dennis believes, was a major factor in setting the stage for the encompassing financial crisis we’ve recently suffered through.

The problem is that while banks have not made money over their history, bankers have, because, when the going gets tough, they get to keep their enormous paychecks of the go-go years.

If we did something simple, like saying that remuneration to officers and executives in excess of $400,000.00 a year, the President’s salary, would be subject to claims against the company which paid them for 5 years, and then partially subject to claims against a company for the next 10 years, we would find a lot more honesty and probity in the financial industry.