While supporters believe that this may actually help executives to make more prudent business decisions, I have to believe that it will more likely stifle creativity, and the healthy risks associated with the finance world. What this notion states, in plain English, is when an executive takes a chance, and makes a decision, if that decision turns out poorly for the company, not only can he be brought up on civil charges, but also on criminal charges, while an executive who makes a similar decision is unscathed since his decision luckily broke even. Executives should absolutely be liable for their decision, but through financial, not criminal (where criminal acts were never committed) means. Essentially it is a case of who is luckier – if two people take the same risk, one should not be a criminal simply because his company lost money – losing wealth is one thing, but he is certainly not a criminal for taking a risk.

I think that if we were to head down this path, it would result in far less risk-taking by sensible people, and the same, if not more, risk-taking by those reckless employees who would be taking big risks anyway (because to those few, making money is all that matters, and anything else including prison is inconsequential). It is one thing to tie bonuses and even claw back money (which, except in extreme cases seems a bit absurd to me as well), but it is entirely another thing to start a new class of criminals for these executives – if there is criminal action, then so be it, but simply making a bad decision (yes, even a very bad decision) is not grounds to label a person a criminal and lock him/her up.

Bankslaugter…Really?

Losers

B of A – Needs around $34 billion (wow…keep in mind, however, that they are claiming they don’t need government backing and are still planning to pay back Tarp quickly – maybe they’re right. Or maybe, it’s just business as usual as the B of A locomotive derails and plows into the side of a mountain – either way; it should be an interesting sight).

Citi – Needs around $5.5 billion (this is a drop in the bucket though considering what they’ve already raised and been through. At this point, Vikram should be kicking back and just waiting for the swarms of investors to come rolling in – any minute now). Citi has already converted some preferred shares and considering the $5 billion is honestly less than what was expected, as I just said, Vikram should be sitting pretty right about now.

Well Fargo – Needs around $15 billion (surprising considering the fuss that they’ve put up, but not all that surprising considering they did buy Wachovia and all of the precious CA mortgage paper that Mr. Thompson gobbled up a few years ago.)

GMAC – Needs roughly $11 million (not terribly surprising, though a bit sad – I like 0% financing promotions and don’t want them stopped just because they need a measly $11 million or so)

Morgan Stanley – Needs just under $2 million – eh, no big deal – Mack’s got that locked up.

KeyCorp, PNC, Regions Financial, SunTrust and 5th 3rd Bank – Each company needs just between $0.5 and $2.5 million. I don’t these results surprise, nor really matter all that much to anyone – so we’re moving on to the WINNERS.

Winners

JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, American Express, BB&T, Bank of NY Mellon, Capital One, MetLife, US Bancorp and State Street – Solid, strong and capitalized…at least the government. Keep fighting the good fight guys…keep it together.

Onto the Show…

Apparently, the government is targeting a quick turnaround and back to business for the failing automaker, with a time frame from start to finish encompassing between 30 and 60 days – but hey, it’s the government, and I don’t think anyone will notice if it takes 150. But I digress. Upon emergence from bankruptcy proceedings Fiat will take a nice chunk of ownership for themselves, and Obama admirably believes that the new entity will be ready to operate smoothly, effectively, and more efficiently than ever before – here’s hoping.

Next on the chopping block is GM. With bondholders expecting 51% (or control) of the company, their counteroffer (from the offered 10%) is sure to make some waves and potentially harm the Union side of the equation (although quite beneficial to the tax payers as they would remain bondholders and, as such, be entitled to first dibs in the event of a liquidation). Presumably this structure, in the grand scheme of things will allow the government to be paid back and prevent GM from changing its name from General Motors to, the more appropriately titled Government Motors. Pull through GM, pull through…I’m rooting for you – but I don’t own any shares, nor a GM automobile, and I’m not planning to buy one, so I guess my support isn’t terribly helpful.

Chrysler Done, GM next?