JP Morgan Again!

Here's a striking fact at Dealbook. The FDIC is currently investigating wrongdoing at JP Morgan. So is the CFTC and the SEC. So are Justice Department prosecutors and the FBI. Even the legendarily lax Office of the Comptroller of Currency is getting in on the party. Some of this is about the London Whale, some of it is about mortgage modifications, and some is about Bernie Madoff. 

This is all to the good. As I wrote in February, I think the Obama administration's decision to take a light hand with the banks in 2009 and 2010 was perfectly defensible as part of an overall economic recovery strategy. But at some point in the last two years it's a strategy that became obsolete. There's no time like a second term with a new Treasury Secretary and a new SEC chair to turn the page and launch a zero tolerance era.

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