“You cannot serve both God and Money.”– Jesus of Nazareth
“Let Detroit Go Bankrupt”-Mitt Romney opinion piece blasting the auto industry bailout by the federal government, 18 November 2008
You might have heard how, only this year, Mitt Romney took credit for the government bailout of the auto industry, seemingly forgetting about his New York Times editorial from 2008, blasting the bailout. I wonder what he thinks about a Mormon owned bank, Zions Bank, firstly taking a $1.4 billion USD government loan, and, secondly being the only bank that got more than one billion taxpayer dollars that has failed to pay back the taxpayers?
Zions Bank branch in Pocatello, Idaho.
“…..people of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.”-1 Timothy 6:5, New International Version of the Bible
Mormon (aka Latter Day Saints [LDS], but their holy book is called Book of Mormon, not Book of Latter Day Saints) Brigham Young started Zion’s Savings Bank and Trust Company in 1873. It was owned directly by the LDS church until 1960, when a group of Mormon investors (Keystone Insurance and Investment) bought controlling interest in the bank. The bank became a full fledged corporation and the name was changed to Zions Bancorporation.
“For the love of money is a root of all evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith….”-1 Timothy 6:10-12, Bible
Since then the Mormon run bank has been taking over other banks (gee kinda similar to what Mitt Romney did with Bain Capital). It’s still run by family members of the original Mormon investors that took over in 1960.
Principal Subsidiaries: California Bank & Trust; The Commerce Bank of Washington; National Bank of Arizona; Nevada State Bank; Vectra Bank Colorado; Zions First National Bank.
“Whoever loves money never has enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.”-Ecclesiastes 5:10, New International Version of the Bible
In 2008 (in fact it was the same month that Mitt Romney wrote his New York Times editorial) Zions Bankcorp was one of the first in line to apply for, and get, a $1.4 billion TARP (aka Too Big to Fail bank bailout) loan from the federal government, in direct contradiction to what many Mormons think about ‘hand outs’ from the government. The latest reports say Zions Bankcorp has paid back only half of the taxpayers’ money, and that it is one of only three banks which still owe taxpayers more than half a billion dollars!
But wait, there’s more!
In classic Mitt Romney/Bain Capital tactics (or is it now clear that it’s really Mormon tactics), the banks have been paying back their government loans with more government loans! (Mitt Romney at Bain Capital did not use his own money, but used money from investors and loans to buy up, cut up and sell off U.S. companies that were seen as competitors to his pet corporations, like Staples vs American Pen & Paper, Toys r Us vs KB Toys, and now Kmart vs Sears)
An October 2011 Wall Street Journal report showed that banks were using money meant for small business loans to pay back TARP. This is one reason why banks cut back on issuing those small business loans to small businesses!
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that banks were also using money from different versions of TARP, to pay back their original Capital Purchase Program (CPP) version of TARP.
Under the CCP the U.S. Department of Treasury bought huge numbers of stocks in the Too Big to Fail banks. Banks pay back the Treasury when they buy back their stocks, at a much higher price of course. So far the Treasury (and technically the taxpayers) has been making huge profits off the bank buy backs. Except for Zions. The Treasury Department is getting antsy about those banks that have not bought their stocks back.
The GAO also suggested that the banks that have yet to pay off their loans, like Zions, are on the verge of going down the toilet. The GAO suggested that these banks were on a ‘secret troubled banks list’ used by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the FDIC has denied they keep such a list).
Mitt Romney, and the Mormon owners of Zions Bank are perfect examples of “Do as I say, not as I do.” Do we really want that kind of person as President of the United States? Oh wait, it’s too late, we’ve had dozens (and they all claimed to be christians)!
“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”– Jesus of Nazareth