ctindale,you have summed up the 'reality' with this institution...

ctindale,

you have summed up the 'reality' with this institution extremely well

I agree with your observation that "opes looked at unemotionally is simply appalling risk management and supervision" or as the press has reported in the last few months "incompetence at best, fraud at worst". I had given them the benefit of the doubt after reading the Crawford report and assumed it was pure incompetence. However, since then I am leaning towards the latter, being that the opes fraud was quite possibly well known within the bank, at very senior level over a period of at least 3 years. If this could be proven through discovery, it leaves little room for the board to manoevre.

I also agree with your observation that this deceptive culture is perhaps more widely institutionalised than many perceive. After all, the bank has been less than transparent with respect to its $40Bn CDS exposure. What other skeletons are in the banks cupboards?

Perhaps the Board may wish to enlighten us shareholders at the forthcoming AGM, and in particular why they seem to have been 'in the dark' on these issues, and whether the recent organisational changes by the current CEO, will address the apparent lack of oversight.