Ban the Banksters

'Dear friends,

Big banks have been rigging the interest rates on our mortgages and student loans! They've finally gone too far.The EU finance regulator is bringing new laws to put bankers behind bars for these crimes but needs popular support to face down the banking lobby and bring global change -- let's get 1 million people to stand with him in the next 3 days:

Big banks have been caught in a massive scam to rig global interest rates, ripping off millions of people on their mortgages, student loans and more! We'd go to jail for this, but Barclays bank has only been fined, and just a fraction of their profits! Outrage is mounting -- this is our chance to finally turn the tide of the banks' reign over our democracies.

The EU finance regulator, Michel Barnier is standing up to the powerful bank lobby and championing reform that would put bankers behind bars for fraud like this. If the EU goes first, accountability could quickly spread across the globe. But the banks are lobbying hard against it, and we need a massive surge of people power to drive these reforms through.

If we can get 1 million people to stand with Barnier in the next 3 days, it will give him momentum to face down the banking lobby and push governments to bring reform. Click below to sign, and our growing numbers will be represented by adding mock bankers to a jail right in front of the EU Parliament: 

http://www.avaaz.org/en/bankers_behind_bars_f/?bqmzaab&v=15942

The full scale of the scandal is still unknown, but what we know is breathtaking: "Several" unnamed major banks were involved, and the rigging of the LIBOR interest rate, the rate on which many of the world's interest rates are based, affected the value of literally hundreds of trillions of dollars in investments. Barclays alone has admitted to committing this fraud "hundreds" of times.

For too long, our governments have been cowed by powerful banks who threatened to move elsewhere if challenged. For too long, banks have manipulated our market economies, tilting the playing field in their favour, and engaging in reckless risk-taking, secure in the knowledge that they could force governments to hand them our taxpayer money when they got into trouble.

The system is rigged, and that's a crime. It's time to put the criminals behind bars for it. It starts in Europe -- let's make it happen:

http://www.avaaz.org/en/bankers_behind_bars_f/?bqmzaab&v=15942

There may never have been a time in modern history when the big banks didn't have excessive and extraordinary power that they regularly abused. But democracy is on the march -- we've seen this march overcome tyrants across the world, and together, we'll help end the reign of the banks as well.

With hope,

Ricken, Iain, Alex, Antonia, Giulia, Luis, and the entire Avaaz team

P.S. -- Last week 94,000 people joined Avaaz member David R.'s campaign against foul-play in the Mexican elections which he launched on the new Avaaz Community Petitions platform. Get support for the things you care strongly about by starting your campaign here: http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/start_a_petition

More information:

FSA’s Turner Says Banks Culture One of ‘Cynical Entitlement’ (Bloomberg)
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-03/fsa-s-turner-says-banks-have-culture-of-cynical-entitlement-1-.html

Barclays Libor scandal: how can we change banking culture? (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/02/barclays-libor-scandal-change-banking-culture

Barclays just the tip of the iceberg as banking braced for more scandals (The Guardian)
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/jul/08/banking-scandals-barclays?intcmp=239

The rotten heart of finance: A scandal over key interest rates is about to go global (Economist)
http://www.economist.com/node/21558281

Banking Reforms after the Libor scandal (Financial Times)
http://blogs.ft.com/martin-wolf-exchange/2012/07/02/banking-reforms-after-the-libor-scandal/#axzz1zY8LnZHS

EU's Barnier pushes for criminal sanctions for Libor abuse (Reuters)
http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/07/09/idINL6E8I91PR20120709

Barnier Seeks to Widen EU Rules to Bar Libor Manipulation (Business Week)
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-07-08/barnier-seeks-to-widen-eu-market-abuse-rules-to-include-libor'