The Big Fix: Inside the S&l Scandal - How an Unholy Alliance of Politics and Money Destroyed America's Banking System

by James Ring Adams

Book Overview

Presents the inside story of the rash of failures of savings-and-loan institutions in the 1980s, written in a hard-news style by a nine-year veteran of The Wall Street Journal . Names the players in this game of monopoly where the money is real, including those highly-placed figures in government and finance. Documented here is a twisted tale of impotent regulation, financial mismanagement, political manipulation, fraud, and outright plunder.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471515353
• ISBN13: 9780471515357
• Release Date: January 1990
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.4" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Not What You Think

This in an interesting book and not one that only focuses on the nightly news sound bite about the S & L in Texas with three speed boats. This author examines why the S & L situation happened. The answers he uncovers do not paint the picture that the politicians want us all to think too much about. Basically the Federal government changes the rules in relation to capital requirements for S & L based on pressure from contributors and a Reagan policy of deregulate everything. Once that happened the mess started. The biggest mistake the government made was deregulating a business that they were on the hook for if they went under. The vast majority of S & L's were actually doing fine until even more regulation came out regarding capital requirements - all in all the politicians had as much to do with the issue as the bankers. The book is much better at explaining this then me, if you are interested in the topic or would like to broaden your understanding of the issues I would start here.