Saturday, August 27, 2011

Schwab's LIBOR Lawsuit Aims At TBTF Banks

I like Charles Schwab (SCHW), both the man and his brokerage.  He persevered against all odds and built a major brokerage from nothing.  The established Wall Street firms opposed his ambitions at every turn.  Now his brokerage is once again taking on the big players.  SCHW is suing U.S. banks for their manipulation of the LIBOR lending benchmark.  Banks that are too big to fail think they are too big to be sued for antitrust violations because regulators have ignored their transgressions.  Think again, big shots. 

Charles Schwab hasn't forgotten what it's like to be a small investor.  That's probably why SCHW hardly faced any regulatory trouble or lawsuits in the aftermath of the credit crunch.  The MBA preppies in TBTF land never knew what it means to be accountable for one's actions.  This lawsuit is a rare example of a moral good in the financial services wilderness.  Go Chuck! 

Full disclosure:  No positions in SCHW or any other financial stock at this time.  I do use SCHW as my brokerage.