Famous Quotes for 2008

Chris Dodd -chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, July 14, 2008.

"Fannie and Freddie are very solid institutions. They have more-than-adequate capital. They have access to capital markets."

In September, the U.S. government seized control of both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, concerned about their mounting losses.

Barney Frank (D-Mass.), House Financial Services Committee chairman, July 14, 2008
"I think this is a case where Freddie Mac (FRE) and Fannie Mae (FNM) are fundamentally sound. They're not in danger of going under…I think they are in good shape going forward."

Two months later, the government forced the mortgage giants into conservatorships and pledged to invest up to $100 billion in each.

Bernie Madoff Well-known investment guru Oct. 27, 2007
"In today's regulatory environment, it's virtually impossible to violate rules...it's impossible for a violation to go undetected, and certainly not for a considerable period of time."

Madoff was arrested in December 2008 for allegedly running a $50 billion Ponzi scheme, the biggest financial scam in history. Madoff allegedly misled hundreds of investors around the world for years.

Lee Kuan Yew – Minister Mentor of Singapore said this in April 2007 to justify the pay of Singapore political leaders that is amongst the highest salaries in the world.

Lee Kuan Yew - Founder of Modern Singapore justifying the highest paid politicians in the world for a small country.

.”.you have to pay the market rate or the man will up stakes and join Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers or Goldman Sachs and you would have an incompetent man and you would lose money by the BILLIONS.....!!!!!!”

In 2008, all these companies became either bankrupt, bailed-out or taken over because of the greed, corruption and short-sighted vision of these CEOs.