NYT Weighs in on Lawsky

Earlier this week, I pointed out the aggressive near renegade steps taken by Benjamin Lawsky, New York State's new top bank regulator, in his money laundering charges against Standard Chartered.

Now, NYT chimes in with the very credible view that Lawsky is making waves as part of his long-term political ambitions:

In making his solo claims that the bank covered up $250 billion in transactions involving Iran, Mr. Lawsky has been likened to Eliot Spitzer, who drew high praise and harsh criticism as New York’s top prosecutor for his aggressive tactics on Wall Street and tendency to muscle federal authorities aside.

Mr. Lawsky has also been compared to his former boss, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who as the state’s attorney general made headline-grabbing cases with Mr. Lawsky as a lieutenant.

Just like Mr. Spitzer, Mr. Lawsky has rankled federal authorities in Washington who say that the state banking regulator is encroaching on their territory and even overstating his case. Mr. Lawsky, a 42-year-old who was born on a naval base in San Diego, has started an international firestorm, with some politicians in London, Standard Chartered’s home, denouncing his actions as those of a upstart regulator bent on damaging British banks.

Some officials investigating the bank view Mr. Lawsky’s action as the product of political ambition, suspecting that he is already considering a run for governor himself one day. As an indication, they and others cite the tone of Mr. Lawsky’s order against the bank where he called it a “rogue,” claimed it had “zeal to make hundreds of millions of dollars at almost any cost” and was engaged in “dealings that indisputably helped sustain a global threat to peace and stability.”

There's a lot wrong with the banking sector, largely regulations upon regulations that keep a moat around the major players and protect them from competition. The general public at large senses something is wrong and evil players like Lawsky play on this concern by making headline charges that have nothing to do with fixing the system. Lawsky is just another power hungry dude that will do anything to gain more power. Bottom line: a very dangerous guy.