FraudulentCharges.com

One of every two Americans lacks confidence in the banking system, and three out of four believe federal bailouts have benefited Wall Street and big banks, but not the average person.

In a telephone survey of 1,000 Americans by Rasmussen Reports, 78 percent of respondents said the Troubled Asset Relief Program and other federal assistance to the banking and finance sector was more to the benefit of Wall Street than the average taxpayer.

The survey, conducted Oct. 15-16, also found 48 percent did not have confidence in the banking system. Forty-four percent said they were confident in banks.

Commercial, consumer and investment banks ranging from Goldman Sachs to Bank of America continue to get raked over the coals for executive pay and bonuses, high interest rates and credit card fees, the lack of lending to consumers and small businesses, and the sector’s slow pace of refinancing and reworking distressed mortgages.

Goldman Sachs came under scrutiny last week over bonuses it plans to hand out to brokers and executives. TARP’s architect, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, was a former Goldman CEO.

Current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is a protege of Robert Rubin, a former Goldman co-chairman and treasury secretary.

Ninety-nine banks have failed this year, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

http://phoenix.bizjournals.com/phoenix/stories/2009/10/19/daily20.html