Whiney banks

The banks are whining again. This time about buying back their TARP warrants. Remember, the tiny amount of warrants were issued to make it look like the taxpayer was going to get a little bit of the upside from their investment" in the banks. Now that they want out of TARP, they also want to renege on their contract and get those warrants back.

Listen to the whining

“We shouldn’t have had to pay a dime,” said Sun Bancorp Chief Executive Thomas Geisel...Taxpayers deserve a return for the risk they took on, but it wasn’t a risk to invest in us.”

"You shouldn't have to pay a dime, Tom?". Did you not sign a term sheet giving you tax payer financed capital in exchange for warrants? Now you want those warrants cancelled for nothing in return? Please show me in the term sheet where it says that the warrants will be cancelled.

Jamie Dimon, CEO of New York-based JPMorgan Chase, said June 1 that that the U.S. should cancel half the warrants it holds “out of fairness.”

Ok, Jamie and why don't we reduce everyone's mortgage balance by half out of fairness. Can I pay back half my credit card balance? That sounds fair to me. 50-50. Even steven. Meeting you half way. Apparently contracts are sacred to bankers except for the ones signed between the banks and the taxpayer where the banks have made concessions.