Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel, a Republican, is recovering today from his mega-fundraising tour of Washington, DC. According to the Cincinnati.com, Mandel attended 3 receptions given in his honor. Mandel most definitely was able to hang out with lobbyists who work to protect banks, and polluters. Josh Mandel was also scheduled to hang out with Grover Norquist, the man that wants to "...drown government in the bathtub."
With Ohio's absent Treasurer running around the country, you wonder if he is keeping tabs on recent revelations about banking. If you recall, Josh Mandel switched Ohio's pension funds to other banks. Ohio Treasurer press release 3/19/12:
| Fund Name | |
New Bank Designee | |
Prior Designee |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Ohio Public Employees Retirement System |
|
JP Morgan | |
State Street |
| Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund |
|
JP Morgan | |
State Street |
| School Employees Retirement System |
|
Citi Bank | |
BNY Mellon |
| State Teachers Retirement System |
|
Citi Bank | |
State Street |
Is Josh Mandel aware of what is going on with these new custodians or does he even care?
Here are some recent news items about JP Morgan:
- Moneynews: JP Morgan Trading Loss May Top $4 Billion, Could Still Grow
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank, may report a $4.2
billion second-quarter trading loss in its chief investment office,
according to an estimate by International Strategy & Investment
Group Inc......
- Forbes: Did JP Morgan Violate the Volcker Rule?
....JP Morgan Chase’s $2 billion mark-to-market trading loss is a gift to
those of us who want to preserve and strengthen the Volcker rule.
One estimate is that the loss may eventually reach $7 billion.
Traders on the other side are taking potshots as the bank tries to
unwind its positions gradually. JP Morgan has cancelled a $15 billion
share buyback. (The Independent, May 22, 2012.)...
- Americablog: JP Morgan Dismissed Risk Control Warnings
How has Citi Bank been doing? (Note: CitiBank is part of Citigroup)
Investors are underestimating the risks posed by Citigroup Inc.'s
C +2.95%
push into faster-growing emerging markets, according to a research report to be published Thursday.
Gimme Credit, a fixed-income research company based in New York, said it
expects debt issued by the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets to perform
less well over the next six months than bonds issued by the company's
peers.....
...Citi knowingly misled the federal government into insuring thousands of
risky mortgages, costing taxpayers nearly $200 million, the Justice
Department claimed. This took place "before, during and after the
financial crisis, and even into 2012," Ivry writes in the latest issue of Bloomberg Markets magazine.....
Josh Mandel has been reckless with his responsibilities protecting pensions and Ohio's money. Why should anyone vote for a person that is clearly more interested in his own political ambitions that guarding your money??? In the past, a few groups have filed requests for Josh Mandel's work schedule. It might be time for an update.
