Banks refusing to issue $208m in insurance checks for Hurricane Sandy victims

Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Citibank and JP Morgan Chase are reportedly sitting on $130 million in insurance checks for thousands of victims of Hurricane Sandy, and are simply refusing to issue them, and no one knows exactly why.  (A total of $208 million in insurance checks are still outstanding.)At this point it’s really difficult to say what the banks have to do to get into enough trouble that someone finally holds them accountable for their actions.
The recent Libor fines are a start, but between the banks fleecing unemployed Americans, gaming the tax system (after being saved by those very taxes), and singlehandedly creating the economic crisis, it’s hard to argue with Matt Taibbi when he says the banks aren’t just too big to fail, they’re “too crooked to fail.”
As if all of the above weren’t bad enough, now the banks are holding on to $208 million that is supposed to help people rebuild after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy.

 

Few expect the bankers to have any morals, but one would expect to hear a lot more from the political class about this. How can people rebuild their lives after a disaster like Sandy if the banks are refusing to give up money people need, and are owed?
The most troubling aspect of this is that the banks in question all received TARP funds to keep them alive.  Surprise!
The banking industry is the most entitled group in the country, and they’re responsible to no one. Yet they never seem to understand why they’re hated so much, by so many.

How long will this be allowed to continue?