The International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization rule trade worldwide, ostensibly helping developing countries enter the 21st century by investing in their modernization, and regulating trade to allow smaller nations compete with the big boys. But this "aid" often comes with a heavy price. Developing nations are often driven into deep debt, and then forced to turn their public services over to multinational corporations. Meanwhile, trade rules force developing nations to weaken rules on labor and environment in order to remain competitive.
Julius Baer Group is a Swiss banking firm which is the parent company of Bank Julius Bär, a traditional private bank based in Zurich, Switzerland, which dates back to the year 1890 when it was founded by the famous banker Julius Bär. The Julius Baer Group manages substantial assets for private and institutional clients from all over the world.
On September 21, 2008 Morgan Stanley announced that the Federal Reserve had granted it bank holding status, giving it more flexibility to maneuver during the financial crisis gripping the economy. The status also means that it is subject to increased regulatory oversight under the Bank Holding Act.
Founded in 1935, Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York. As one of the top investment banks of it's kind, Morgan has offices in 35 countries with 600 global offices.
The Royal Bank of Canada (Banque Royale du Canada in French) is Canada's largest company.[1] It has over 1,400 branches across Canada, over 70,000 full-and part-time employees worldwide, and offices in over 34 countries.
Its master brand is RBC and that name is used on all its business units. In Canada, the bank is branded as RBC Royal Bank, a combination of its new master brand and its traditional Canadian brand. Examples include RBC Capital Markets, full service investment brokerage firm RBC Dominion Securities, and online investment site RBC Direct Investing.
Bank of America is the biggest bank in America and one of the ten largest banks in the world. BofA has been the target of much recent criticism for its extensive involvement in the subprime lending markets that precipitated the current recession and for a shotgun merger with Merrill Lynch that critics say damaged the bank's share value.
Washington Mutual (WaMu) failed in 2008 and was acquired by JP Morgan Chase and Co for $1.9 billion.
Until then WaMu was the largest thrift in the US, offering consumer and commercial banking services through 2,260 branches on the West Coast as well as New York and Connecticut. WaMu's mortgage business became its achilles heel. Although the bank exited the mortgage business after the housing bubble popped in 2007, it was already too late.
The Bank of New York Mellon was created in 2007 by the merger of Bank of New York and Mellon. The bank announced on October 14, 2008 that it was selected by U.S. Treasury to help administer the government's bank bailout program (Troubled Asset Relief Program) authorized under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act.
ING Groep N.V. (known as ING Group) is a financial institution of Dutch origin offering banking, insurance and asset management services. ING once stood for Internationale Nederlanden Groep.
As of 2003, ING covers 60 million private, corporate and institutional clients in 50 countries with a workforce of over 115,000 people. It has offices in Canada, Peru, Chile, Spain, France, Italy, Romania, Mexico, the United States, Germany, UK, Belgium, Poland, Austria, Taiwan and Australia.
