December 2023 - cypherpunks - lists.cpunks.org

Re: Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : xNY.io - Bank.org
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

Dear Ms. Pruitt: Thank you. Gunnar Gunnar Larson xNY.io - Bank.org 917-580-8053 On Thu, Dec 28, 2023, 12:10 PM Pruitt, Kimberly (DHR) < Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov> wrote: > Dear Mr. Larson: > > > > Pursuant to your request, please see the attached. > > > > > > Best Regards, > > > > *Kimberly Pruitt* > > She/Her/Mrs. *(What is this? <https://pronouns.org/she-her>)* > > Office Assistant 1 > > *New York State Division of Human Rights* > > One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458 > > (718) 741-8400 (Phone) | (718) 741-8279 (Fax) > > *Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov <Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov>* > > www.dhr.ny.gov > > > > > > *From:* noreply-openfoil(a)its.ny.gov <its.sm.openfoil(a)its.ny.gov> > *Sent:* Saturday, November 18, 2023 10:25 PM > *To:* dfs.sm.RecordsAccessOfficer <recordsaccessofficer(a)dfs.ny.gov>; > dhr.dl.foil <foil(a)dhr.ny.gov> > *Subject:* Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : xNY.io - Bank.org > > > > *New FOIL Request for Department of Financial Services, Division of Human > Rights * > > Submitted on: 11/18/2023 10:24:37 PM > Request Confirmation Number : > LARSON_DFS_20231118222437651 > > LARSON_DHR_20231118222437651 > > > *INFORMATION SUBMITTED:* > > *Title* > > Mr. > > *First Name* > > Gunnar > > *Middle Initial* > > *D* > > *Last Name* > > Larson > > *E-Mail* > > G(a)xny.io > > *Telephone* > > *Fax* > > *Affiliation/Organization* > > xNY.io - Bank.org > > *Street Address 1* > > 406 West 25th Street > > *Street Address 2* > > *City* > > New York > > *State* > > NY > > *Zip Code* > > 10001 > > *Country* > > *USA* > > *Short Title* > > xNY.io - Bank.org > > *Description* > > “Dear Sir or Madam: Please submit any and all records related to the > LendingClub.com September 11 Board of Directors resignation below. The date > of the resignation is in question. You may understand the sensitive nature > of the date of the resignation Gunnar Larson Sun, Oct 24, 2021, 5:06 PM to > Anuj, Investor, Press Hello there: Thank you very much for the reply. > Gunnar On Sun, Oct 24, 2021, 11:36 AM Anuj Nayar wrote: Hi Gunnar On > September 11, 2021, in connection with her nomination to serve as > superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, > Adrienne Harris notified us of her resignation, effective September 12, > 2021, from the Company’s Board. Details can be found in the 8k filed on > 9/15/21 (below) https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK- > 0001409970/bbc437e4-2920-4d5d-8e0d-86bca622f0ca.pdf From: Gunnar Larson > Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 9:37 AM To: Investor Relations , Press > Cc: Gunnar Larson Subject: [EXT] LendingClub: Current Board of Directors > CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not > click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know > the content is safe. Dear Madam or Sir: Good day to you. Surveying market > research, I was wondering if you can kindly confirm, from LendingClub's > July 15, 2021 press release: Is Ms. Adrienne Harris currently a member of > LendingClub's board of directors? > https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lendingclub-appoints-adrienne-harr… > board-of-directors-301335198.html#financial-modal [prnewswire.com] > Reviewing your website, Ms. Harris is not referenced: > https://www.lendingclub.com/company/leadership Bloomberg and other > sources do not reference Ms. Harris as a LendingClub board member: > https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/LC:US [bloomberg.com] Sending you the > very best regards. Thank you, Gunnar -- Gunnar Larson - xNY.io [xny.io] | > Bank.org [bank.org] MSc [unic.ac.cy] - Digital Currency MBA [unic.ac.cy] > - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454- 9107 New > York, New York 10001 > > *FOIL Response Format* > > Email > > *If fees apply, please contact me if costs will be greater than* > > 10000 > > *Additional Information* > > I am a representative of, or affiliated with, the news media and this > request is made as part of a news gathering effort , I am an individual > seeking information for personal use , I am affiliated with an educational > or non-commercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a > scholarly or scientific purpose , I am affiliated with a private > corporation and am seeking information for use in the company’s business > for commercial purpose , I am affiliated with a private corporation and am > seeking information for use in the company’s business for non-commercial > purpose > > >

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Fwd: Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : xNY.io - Bank.org
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Pruitt, Kimberly (DHR) <Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov> Date: Thu, Dec 28, 2023, 12:10 PM Subject: RE: Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : xNY.io - Bank.org To: G(a)xny.io <G(a)xny.io> Cc: dhr.dl.foil <foil(a)dhr.ny.gov> Dear Mr. Larson: Pursuant to your request, please see the attached. Best Regards, *Kimberly Pruitt* She/Her/Mrs. *(What is this? <https://pronouns.org/she-her>)* Office Assistant 1 *New York State Division of Human Rights* One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458 (718) 741-8400 (Phone) | (718) 741-8279 (Fax) *Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov <Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov>* www.dhr.ny.gov December 28, 2023 via email: G(a)xny.io Gunnar Larson xNY.io – Bank.org New York, NY 10001 Dear Mr. Larson: This is in further response to your Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, received by the Division on November 18, 2023, in which you requested a copy of the following: xNY.io - Bank.org “Dear Sir or Madam: Please submit any and all records related to the LendingClub.com September 11 Board of Directors resignation below. The date of the resignation is in question. You may understand the sensitive nature of the date of the resignation Gunnar Larson Sun, Oct 24, 2021, 5:06 PM to Anuj, Investor, Press Hello there: Thank you very much for the reply. Gunnar On Sun, Oct 24, 2021, 11:36 AM Anuj Nayar wrote: Hi Gunnar On September 11, 2021, in connection with her nomination to serve as superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, Adrienne Harris notified us of her resignation, effective September 12, 2021, from the Company’s Board. Details can be found in the 8k filed on 9/15/21 (below) https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK- 0001409970/bbc437e4-2920-4d5d-8e0d-86bca622f0ca.pdf From: Gunnar Larson Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 9:37 AM To: Investor Relations , Press Cc: Gunnar Larson Subject: [EXT] LendingClub: Current Board of Directors CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Madam or Sir: Good day to you. Surveying market research, I was wondering if you can kindly confirm, from LendingClub's July 15, 2021 press release: Is Ms. Adrienne Harris currently a member of LendingClub's board of directors? https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lendingclub-appoints- adrienne-harris-to-its- board-of-directors- 301335198.html#financial-modal [prnewswire.com] Reviewing your website, Ms. Harris is not referenced:https://www.lendingclub.com/company/leadership Bloomberg and other sources do not reference Ms. Harris as a LendingClub board member: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/LC:US [bloomberg.com] Please be advised that the Division does not have any records in its possession that are responsive to your FOIL request. Any person denied access to a requested record may, within thirty (30) days of the denial, appeal the denial in writing by mail or fax to Caroline J. Downey, General Counsel, N.Y.S. Division of Human Rights, One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx, New York 10458. Very truly yours, Siaka Paasewe FOIL Officer *From:* noreply-openfoil(a)its.ny.gov <its.sm.openfoil(a)its.ny.gov> *Sent:* Saturday, November 18, 2023 10:25 PM *To:* dfs.sm.RecordsAccessOfficer <recordsaccessofficer(a)dfs.ny.gov>; dhr.dl.foil <foil(a)dhr.ny.gov> *Subject:* Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : xNY.io - Bank.org *New FOIL Request for Department of Financial Services, Division of Human Rights * Submitted on: 11/18/2023 10:24:37 PM Request Confirmation Number : LARSON_DFS_20231118222437651 LARSON_DHR_20231118222437651 *INFORMATION SUBMITTED:* *Title* Mr. *First Name* Gunnar *Middle Initial* *D* *Last Name* Larson *E-Mail* G(a)xny.io *Telephone* *Fax* *Affiliation/Organization* xNY.io - Bank.org *Street Address 1* 406 West 25th Street *Street Address 2* *City* New York *State* NY *Zip Code* 10001 *Country* *USA* *Short Title* xNY.io - Bank.org *Description* “Dear Sir or Madam: Please submit any and all records related to the LendingClub.com September 11 Board of Directors resignation below. The date of the resignation is in question. You may understand the sensitive nature of the date of the resignation Gunnar Larson Sun, Oct 24, 2021, 5:06 PM to Anuj, Investor, Press Hello there: Thank you very much for the reply. Gunnar On Sun, Oct 24, 2021, 11:36 AM Anuj Nayar wrote: Hi Gunnar On September 11, 2021, in connection with her nomination to serve as superintendent of the New York State Department of Financial Services, Adrienne Harris notified us of her resignation, effective September 12, 2021, from the Company’s Board. Details can be found in the 8k filed on 9/15/21 (below) https://d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net/CIK- 0001409970/bbc437e4-2920-4d5d-8e0d-86bca622f0ca.pdf From: Gunnar Larson Date: Saturday, October 23, 2021 at 9:37 AM To: Investor Relations , Press Cc: Gunnar Larson Subject: [EXT] LendingClub: Current Board of Directors CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. Dear Madam or Sir: Good day to you. Surveying market research, I was wondering if you can kindly confirm, from LendingClub's July 15, 2021 press release: Is Ms. Adrienne Harris currently a member of LendingClub's board of directors? https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lendingclub-appoints-adrienne-harr… board-of-directors-301335198.html#financial-modal [prnewswire.com] Reviewing your website, Ms. Harris is not referenced: https://www.lendingclub.com/company/leadership Bloomberg and other sources do not reference Ms. Harris as a LendingClub board member: https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/LC:US [bloomberg.com] Sending you the very best regards. Thank you, Gunnar -- Gunnar Larson - xNY.io [xny.io] | Bank.org [bank.org] MSc [unic.ac.cy] - Digital Currency MBA [unic.ac.cy] - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-646-454- 9107 New York, New York 10001 *FOIL Response Format* Email *If fees apply, please contact me if costs will be greater than* 10000 *Additional Information* I am a representative of, or affiliated with, the news media and this request is made as part of a news gathering effort , I am an individual seeking information for personal use , I am affiliated with an educational or non-commercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a scholarly or scientific purpose , I am affiliated with a private corporation and am seeking information for use in the company’s business for commercial purpose , I am affiliated with a private corporation and am seeking information for use in the company’s business for non-commercial purpose

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Re: Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

Dear Ms. Pruitt: Thank you for your email. Happy New Year to you. Gunnar Gunnar Larson xNY.io - Bank.org 917-580-8053 On Thu, Dec 28, 2023, 12:08 PM Pruitt, Kimberly (DHR) < Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov> wrote: > Dear Mr. Larson: > > > > Pursuant to your request, please see the attached. > > > > > > Best Regards, > > > > *Kimberly Pruitt* > > She/Her/Mrs. *(What is this? <https://pronouns.org/she-her>)* > > Office Assistant 1 > > *New York State Division of Human Rights* > > One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458 > > (718) 741-8400 (Phone) | (718) 741-8279 (Fax) > > *Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov <Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov>* > > www.dhr.ny.gov > > > > > > > > *From:* noreply-openfoil(a)its.ny.gov <its.sm.openfoil(a)its.ny.gov> > *Sent:* Sunday, November 19, 2023 3:09 PM > *To:* dfs.sm.RecordsAccessOfficer <recordsaccessofficer(a)dfs.ny.gov>; > dhr.dl.foil <foil(a)dhr.ny.gov>; dob.sm.foil <foil(a)budget.ny.gov> > *Subject:* Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : 2022 New York City > Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance > > > > *New FOIL Request for Department of Financial Services, Division of Human > Rights, Division of the Budget * > > Submitted on: 11/19/2023 3:08:34 PM > Request Confirmation Number : > LARSON_DFS_20231119150834292 > > LARSON_DHR_20231119150834292 > > LARSON_DOB_20231119150834292 > > > *INFORMATION SUBMITTED:* > > *Title* > > Mr. > > *First Name* > > Gunnar > > *Middle Initial* > > *D* > > *Last Name* > > Larson > > *E-Mail* > > G(a)xny.io > > *Telephone* > > *Fax* > > *Affiliation/Organization* > > xNY.io - Bank.org > > *Street Address 1* > > *Street Address 2* > > *City* > > New York > > *State* > > NY > > *Zip Code* > > 10001 > > *Country* > > *USA* > > *Short Title* > > 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance > > *Description* > > While surveying 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset > Performance, xNY.io - Bank.org noticed an overall negative return for the > five systems referenced here: > https://comptroller.nyc.gov/services/financial-matters/pension/asset-perfor…. > xNY.io - Bank.org seeks access to any and all records explaing 2022 New > York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance as a loss for all > five funds. Comprehensively, the mechanisms for garnering public equity are > easily understood and easy to execute. An advantage for public equity is > its liquidity as most publicly traded stocks are available and easily > traded daily through public market exchanges. Related to New York City > Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance, public equity investments > do not include individual stocks under "asset type" and "asset name." > xNY.io - Bank.org would like to receive record if the five systems owned > PayPal (PYPL) as an individual investment as part of fund investment across > the systems between FY 2020 and 2022. Additionally, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks > trading history ststements of PYPL across the five systems between FY 2020 > and 2022. -- Gunnar Larson xNY.io - Bank.org MSc - Digital Currency MBA - > Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-917-580-8053 New York, > New York 10001 > > *FOIL Response Format* > > Email > > *If fees apply, please contact me if costs will be greater than* > > 10000 > > *Additional Information* > > I am a representative of, or affiliated with, the news media and this > request is made as part of a news gathering effort , I am an individual > seeking information for personal use , I am affiliated with an educational > or non-commercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a > scholarly or scientific purpose , I am affiliated with a private > corporation and am seeking information for use in the company’s business > for commercial purpose , I am affiliated with a private corporation and am > seeking information for use in the company’s business for non-commercial > purpose > > >

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Fwd: Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Pruitt, Kimberly (DHR) <Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov> Date: Thu, Dec 28, 2023, 12:08 PM Subject: RE: Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance To: G(a)xny.io <G(a)xny.io> Cc: dhr.dl.foil <foil(a)dhr.ny.gov> Dear Mr. Larson: Pursuant to your request, please see the attached. Best Regards, *Kimberly Pruitt* She/Her/Mrs. *(What is this? <https://pronouns.org/she-her>)* Office Assistant 1 *New York State Division of Human Rights* One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx, NY 10458 (718) 741-8400 (Phone) | (718) 741-8279 (Fax) *Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov <Kimberly.Pruitt2(a)dhr.ny.gov>* www.dhr.ny.gov December 28, 2023 via email: G(a)xny.io Gunnar Larson xNY.io – Bank.org New York, NY 10001 Dear Mr. Larson: This is in further response to your Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request, received by the Division on November 19, 2023, in which you requested a copy of the following: 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance While surveying 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance, xNY.io - Bank.org noticed an overall negative return for the five systems referenced here: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/services/financial- matters/pension/asset-performance/. xNY.io - Bank.org seeks access to any and all records explaing 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance as a loss for all five funds. Comprehensively, the mechanisms for garnering public equity are easily understood and easy to execute. An advantage for public equity is its liquidity as most publicly traded stocks are available and easily traded daily through public market exchanges. Related to New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance, public equity investments do not include individual stocks under "asset type" and "asset name." xNY.io - Bank.org would like to receive record if the five systems owned PayPal (PYPL) as an individual investment as part of fund investment across the systems between FY 2020 and 2022. Additionally, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks trading history ststements of PYPL across the five systems between FY 2020 and 2022 Please be advised that the Division does not have any records in its possession that are responsive to your FOIL request. Any person denied access to a requested record may, within thirty (30) days of the denial, appeal the denial in writing by mail or fax to Caroline J. Downey, General Counsel, N.Y.S. Division of Human Rights, One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor, Bronx, New York 10458. Very truly yours, Siaka Paasewe FOIL Officer *From:* noreply-openfoil(a)its.ny.gov <its.sm.openfoil(a)its.ny.gov> *Sent:* Sunday, November 19, 2023 3:09 PM *To:* dfs.sm.RecordsAccessOfficer <recordsaccessofficer(a)dfs.ny.gov>; dhr.dl.foil <foil(a)dhr.ny.gov>; dob.sm.foil <foil(a)budget.ny.gov> *Subject:* Open FOIL NY Request From : Gunnar Larson : 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance *New FOIL Request for Department of Financial Services, Division of Human Rights, Division of the Budget * Submitted on: 11/19/2023 3:08:34 PM Request Confirmation Number : LARSON_DFS_20231119150834292 LARSON_DHR_20231119150834292 LARSON_DOB_20231119150834292 *INFORMATION SUBMITTED:* *Title* Mr. *First Name* Gunnar *Middle Initial* *D* *Last Name* Larson *E-Mail* G(a)xny.io *Telephone* *Fax* *Affiliation/Organization* xNY.io - Bank.org *Street Address 1* *Street Address 2* *City* New York *State* NY *Zip Code* 10001 *Country* *USA* *Short Title* 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance *Description* While surveying 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance, xNY.io - Bank.org noticed an overall negative return for the five systems referenced here: https://comptroller.nyc.gov/services/financial-matters/pension/asset-perfor…. xNY.io - Bank.org seeks access to any and all records explaing 2022 New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance as a loss for all five funds. Comprehensively, the mechanisms for garnering public equity are easily understood and easy to execute. An advantage for public equity is its liquidity as most publicly traded stocks are available and easily traded daily through public market exchanges. Related to New York City Pension/Investment Management Asset Performance, public equity investments do not include individual stocks under "asset type" and "asset name." xNY.io - Bank.org would like to receive record if the five systems owned PayPal (PYPL) as an individual investment as part of fund investment across the systems between FY 2020 and 2022. Additionally, xNY.io - Bank.org seeks trading history ststements of PYPL across the five systems between FY 2020 and 2022. -- Gunnar Larson xNY.io - Bank.org MSc - Digital Currency MBA - Entrepreneurship and Innovation (ip) G(a)xNY.io +1-917-580-8053 New York, New York 10001 *FOIL Response Format* Email *If fees apply, please contact me if costs will be greater than* 10000 *Additional Information* I am a representative of, or affiliated with, the news media and this request is made as part of a news gathering effort , I am an individual seeking information for personal use , I am affiliated with an educational or non-commercial scientific institution, and this request is made for a scholarly or scientific purpose , I am affiliated with a private corporation and am seeking information for use in the company’s business for commercial purpose , I am affiliated with a private corporation and am seeking information for use in the company’s business for non-commercial purpose

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[ot][personal] walking free journal thread
by Karl Semich 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

the walking free from the trauma of coercive abuse book says it is important to make a journal and to pick one that is good for you what seems to work for me, to let me repeat writing, is to write emails to this list this is a thread that could be a journal for this workbook :) (T_T [?]) some concepts injured during posting it says nice things in the book. it looks like it might be a good book to do fully on my own time, like the steve hassan book. the other things are the main lalich book and the hassan videos. but this book i was

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A Big Picture Look at Our Major Wall Street Corruption Stories of 2023
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

https://wallstreetonparade.com/2023/12/a-big-picture-look-at-our-major-wall… A Big Picture Look at Our Major Wall Street Corruption Stories of 2023 By Pam Martens and Russ Martens: December 28, 2023 ~ The year 2023 will go down in U.S. banking history as the year in which the fastest bank runs in U.S. history occurred, producing the second, third and fourth largest banking failures in U.S. history in the span of seven weeks. Losses of more than $32 billion from these failed banks hit the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund (FDIC). Adding to the regulatory hubris, the largest and riskiest bank in the U.S., JPMorgan Chase, was allowed by its compromised regulators to become even riskier by gobbling up the failed First Republic Bank while JPMorgan Chase got an unexplained $50 billion 5-year loan from the FDIC at an undisclosed interest rate to sweeten its purchase of the failed bank. And, what good is a banking crisis if the Fed can’t pony up yet another bank bailout fund, this time with loans of up to an unprecedented one-year term. (Under Federal Reserve statutory legislation, the Federal Reserve Act, the Fed is supposed to make short-term loans. Ignoring statutory legislation has never been a problem at the Fed, however.) Less than two months after this unprecedented banking chaos occurred, Fed Chair Jerome Powell was back to delivering his Alice in Wonderland narrative to Congress that the “U.S. banking system is sound and resilient.” (If it is so sound and resilient, why does it need so many emergency bailout programs from the Fed?) Attesting to the systemic nature of the banking crisis, the share prices of the four largest banks in the U.S. began to sell off, with both Bank of America and Wells Fargo losing over 20 percent in the span of three weeks. (See chart below.) Trading Performance of Four Largest U.S. Banks During Bank Run in March 2023 And, of course, one can’t have a real banking crisis without a Global Systemically Important Bank (G-SIB) blowing up. This time it was a Swiss bank, Credit Suisse, with heavy ties to Wall Street mega banks, which might help explain the above chart. Below, we’ve broken down our major banking and Wall Street corruption stories of 2023 into a few key categories, hoping that our readers will see the overarching reality that corruption has reached unparalleled levels in the U.S. banking system, fueled by its incestuous relationship with Wall Street trading houses and Big Law, while the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice and Big Media focus on keeping the American people in the dark. ~~~~~ All Things Crypto On August 1, 2022, Wall Street On Parade published this headline: Brace Yourself for Federally-Insured Bank Failures Caused by Crypto. By March 8, 2023, the federally-insured crypto-involved bank, Silvergate, blew itself up, and decided to voluntarily wind down. By March 10, 2023 another crypto-involved bank, Signature Bank, had blown up and was put into FDIC receivership. Two days later, the U.S. financial system found itself in the full throes of major bank runs when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed into an FDIC receivership. This collapse was followed by First Republic Bank on May 1. The criminal trial of crypto kingpin Sam Bankman-Fried would likely be considered by mainstream media as one of the key financial stories of 2023. At Wall Street On Parade, however, where we take a big picture view of the insidious machinations on Wall Street, it was the intimate involvement of Wall Street’s go-to law firm, Sullivan & Cromwell, in the Bankman-Fried and broader crypto matters that caught our eye. See for example: Two Indicted Masterminds of the FTX Fraud Were Clients of Big Law Firm Sullivan & Cromwell Sam Bankman-Fried, BlockFi and Sullivan & Cromwell: A Viper’s Nest of Conflicts and Intrigue Bombshell Emails Raise Questions about What Sullivan & Cromwell Knew about Fraud at Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Firms A Sam Bankman-Fried Company Loaned or Invested More than $1 Billion in Clients of its Law Firm, Sullivan & Cromwell Bankruptcy Law Expert, Senator Elizabeth Warren, Asks FTX Bankruptcy Judge to Boot Sullivan & Cromwell from the Case Going forward, please notice how rarely the mainstream business press is willing to investigate or even mention a Big Law firm’s nefarious relationships with Wall Street. For more on our crypto-related coverage, see the following: The U.S. Congress Twiddled Its Thumbs on Crypto while 10 Countries Banned It and 42 Others Placed Heavy Restrictions Four Crypto-Friendly Banks Are Being Bailed Out with Billions from a Federal Housing Program Regulators Wake Up to Uninsured Deposits at the Mega Banks The year 2023 was also the year when federal banking regulators woke up to the frightening reality of how fast bank runs can occur in the digital/social media age. It took only a few social media posts to start an avalanche of digital deposit withdrawals at Silicon Valley Bank. In the span of just 24 hours, $42 billion in deposits had exited the bank with another $100 billion queued up to leave the next day – meaning it was possible for a federally-insured bank to lose 85 percent of its deposits in the span of 48 hours in the digital/social media age. (For a closer look at what was going on at Silicon Valley Bank, see our report: Silicon Valley Bank Was a Wall Street IPO Pipeline in Drag as a Federally-Insured Bank; FHLB of San Francisco Was Quietly Bailing It Out.) In testimony before the House Financial Services Committee on November 15, FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg cited “over reliance on uninsured deposits” as one of the key factors in the bank failures this past spring. He added this: “…we are updating examiner guidance to be more explicit about analyses of uninsured deposit concentrations and have reemphasized to examiners the importance of forward–looking indicators of risk, such as high growth rates and breaches of internal risk limits. Additionally, we have strengthened our instructions for examiners on timely escalation of supervisory responses when management has been unable or unwilling to effect corrective action, or when financial conditions deteriorate rapidly, or both….” Despite this pledge from the FDIC Chair of more attention to “uninsured deposit concentrations,” Wall Street On Parade reported the following: November 14, 2023: The Deposit Insurance Fund Has a Balance of $117 Billion to Protect Deposits at 4,622 Banks. But One of Those Banks Has $1.4 Trillion in Uninsured Deposits May 11, 2023: At Year End, 4,127 U.S. Banks Held $7.7 Trillion in Uninsured Deposits; JPMorgan Chase, BofA, Wells Fargo and Citi Accounted for 43 Percent of That Former Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan’s Trading Scandal Remains Behind a Dark Curtain for the Second Year in a Row The other big story that should have made the front pages of newspapers across America this year was how the investigation of former Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan (who made million dollar trades in S&P 500 futures while sitting at the helm of the Dallas Fed and being privy to inside information as a voting member of the FOMC in 2020) was resolved by law enforcement. Instead, there was no announcement by law enforcement despite a two-year probe into the matter. On October 31, 2023, Wall Street On Parade provided an update to our readers. See: After Two Years, There’s Still No Law Enforcement Report on Former Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan’s Trading Like a Hedge Fund Kingpin. Kaplan, for his part, appears to be attempting to resuscitate his scandalized reputation with the willing help of Maria Bartiromo and Fox Business news. (See here and here.) Despite Kaplan triggering the biggest trading scandal in the 110-year history of the Fed, he now has the audacity to actually be giving advice to the Fed on how it should conduct its monetary policy. Wall Street On Parade’s Award for the Slimiest Story of the Year Goes to Jamie Dimon and His Five-Count Felon Bank, JPMorgan Chase JPMorgan Chase is not just the largest and riskiest bank in the U.S., it is also the most frequently charged with felony counts by the U.S. Department of Justice. (See: JPMorgan’s Board Made Jamie Dimon a Billionaire as the Bank Rigged Markets, Laundered Money, and Admitted to Five Felony Counts.) Given the bank’s unprecedented rap sheet, that reads more like that of an organized crime family than a federally-insured bank, one would think that the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice would be all over the bank after the Attorney General of the U.S. Virgin Islands introduces evidence into a federal court that credibly alleges that JPMorgan Chase was “actively participating” in Jeffrey Epstein’s international sex trafficking of minors for more than a decade. Instead, the bank was allowed to settle the case (and a related case) for $365 million with nary a whimper from Judge Jed Rakoff, despite 17 Attorneys General objecting to the settlement on the basis that it usurped their rights. The tricked up settlements were the handiwork of another Big Law firm, WilmerHale, which represented JPMorgan Chase. See part of our coverage below of this unprecedented long-term relationship between the largest federally-insured bank in the United States and the multi-decade sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. (Epstein died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. His death was ruled a suicide by the New York City Medical Examiner.) New Court Documents Suggest the Justice Department Under Four Presidents Covered Up Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Laundering at JPMorgan Chase Janet Yellen’s Treasury Department Hires 5-Count Felon JPMorgan Chase to Look for Fraud JPMorgan’s Settlements Reach $365 Million Over Civil Claims It Banked Jeffrey Epstein’s Sex Trafficking of Minors; Criminal Charges Could Lie Ahead Former FBI Agent Prepared to Testify that JPMorgan Had Jeffrey Epstein Account for 28 Years – Not 15 Years – and “Impeded” Criminal Investigation of Epstein Gary Gensler’s SEC Is Drawing a Dark Curtain Around Child Sex Trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, His Money Man Leslie Wexner and Their Ties to JPMorgan Jamie Dimon Faces an Uphill Battle Convincing a Jury He Didn’t Know that Child Sex-Trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein, Was Financing His Operation Out of JPMorgan NYS Regulator Fined Deutsche Bank $150 Million Over Ties to Jeffrey Epstein but Says It Doesn’t Have a Scrap of Paper on JPMorgan and the Sex Trafficker Court Filing: JPMorgan Chase “Actively Participated in Epstein’s Sex-Trafficking Venture” JPMorgan Listed a “Lolita’s Closet” on the New York Stock Exchange for Jeffrey Epstein’s Money Man, Les Wexner JPMorgan/Jeffrey Epstein Cases Are a Cross Between the Bank’s Chinese Princeling Scandal and Madoff Fraud, Using Sex with Minors as a Bribe JPMorgan Is Alleged to Have Used Its Hedge Fund’s Private Jet to Engage in Sex-Trafficking for Jeffrey Epstein 72 Hours Before JPMorgan Offered $290 Million to Make Epstein Claims Go Away, a Lawyer Disclosed that the Bank Had Withheld 1500 Documents Jamie Dimon’s Deposition in Epstein Case Reveals Email Stating that Dimon Was to Be Treated to “Heavy Snacks” at Epstein’s Home JPMorgan Chase and Jeffrey Epstein Were Both Involved in a Strange Offshore Company Called Liquid Funding

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World Bank approves new Tanzania loans worth $1.14 bln | Reuters
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/world-bank-approves-new-tanzania-loans… NAIROBI, Dec 21 (Reuters) - The World Bank has approved two separate loans worth about $1.14 billion combined to Tanzania to support its private sector, develop its commercial capital and fight effects of climate change, the bank said. The first tranche of financing worth $750 million - called Development Policy Financing - is meant to finance reforms such as making business licensing faster and also broaden access to cheap credit to accelerate private sector growth, the bank said in a statement late on Wednesday. The second lot of $385 million will go towards financing infrastructure and building institutions that will help Tanzania's commercial capital Dar es Salaam to cope with the effects of climate change, the bank said. "Tanzania remains very vulnerable to climate change and is limited in its preparedness to adapt and respond to the adverse impacts," Nathan Belete, World Bank country director for Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Tanzania, was quoted as saying in the statement. Advertisement · Scroll to continue Out of the east African country's 44.39 trillion Tanzanian shillings budget for 2023/24 (July-June) the government expects to borrow 2.1 trillion shillings from external sources. World Bank's loans typically carry low to zero interest with long repayment periods.

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World Bank: approved $350 mln financing for RISE-II operation in Pakistan | Reuters
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/world-bank-approved-350-mln-fina… KARACHI, Pakistan, Dec 20 (Reuters) - The World Bank's board of executive directors approved $350 million in financing for the Second Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II) operation in Pakistan on Tuesday. RISE-II aims to strengthen fiscal management and promote competitiveness for sustained and inclusive economic growth in the country whose economy is struggling to grow, with persistently high inflation and foreign reserves running low. "Based on the foundations laid through RISE II and parallel support by other IFIs, Pakistan has the opportunity to tackle long-standing structural distortions in its economy after the upcoming general elections," Derek H. C. Chen, task team leader of the operation said in a statement. "Failing to use this opportunity would risk plunging the country back into stop-and-go economic cycles," Chen added. The operation also aims to foster growth and competitiveness by reducing the cost of tax compliance, improving financial sector transparency, encouraging the use of digital payments and promoting exports by lowering import tariffs, the World Bank said in its statement.

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African Development Bank pulls staff from Ethiopia over 'unlawful' arrests | Devex
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

https://www.devex.com/news/african-development-bank-pulls-staff-from-ethiop… "At the end of October, Ethiopian security forces “unlawfully arrested, physically assaulted, and detained for hours without charge or any official explanation” two of its Addis Ababa-based staff members, it said."

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Cathie Wood Goes Big Into ProShares Bitcoin, Dumps Grayscale
by Gunnar Larson 28 Dec '23

28 Dec '23

Cathie Wood Goes Big Into ProShares Bitcoin, Dumps Grayscale https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-12-28/a-cathie-wood-etf-just-o… One of Cathie Wood’s exchange-traded funds has executed a massive shake-up in its Bitcoin-related holdings as the cryptocurrency rounds out a blockbuster year.

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