– TARP was one of the worst economic decisions ever made in the history of the world.

– Hank Paulson basically said that if Wells Fargo didn’t take the TARP money (which it didn’t need) Wells would suffer at the hands of the Fed.

– The ratings agencies are the linchpin in the whole meltdown. Regulators and industry knew the big 3 were lying when the ratings agencies slapped AAA ratings on many mortgage backed securities.

– Freddie and Fannie introduced massive amounts of moral hazard into the economic system.

– Regulators had far more tools than they needed prior to Dodd-Frank but chose not to use them. Dodd-Frank will only make matters worse in the long run as even more regulation is layered on top of the banking industry. This will crowd out smaller players and banks will now become yet larger.

– Even now in retirement and no longer an employee of Wells Fargo, Richard Kovacevich fears potential retribution for his speaking out. . .