Behind every credit default swap or short of subprime mortgage-backed assets sit legal counsel sanctioning these practices; their hands are no cleaner than those of their clients.
By Katherine Franke
A scruffy-looking Occupy Wall Street protester takes out a big black magic marker and writes on a tattered piece of cardboard: “Ban ‘Naked’ Credit Default Swaps.” Others hold signs calling for an end to “mortgage-backed securities” and “self-settled asset protection trusts.” These demonstrations have a different, and more sophisticated, message than any we’ve seen before. “Hey, Hey, Ho, Ho — Interest Rate Swap Contracts Have Got To Go!”
