President Biden has made more questionable moves than reasonable ones since his start in politics. Yet, since even the start of his 2020 Presidential election, the questionable financial decisions have racked up. Now, he wants the former CEO of Mastercard to run the World Bank.
In a statement on February 23rd, Biden touted Ajay Banga as being the best man for the job and likened himself to Banga in an attempt to show that he is a defender of the American consumer and a mortal enemy of the banking system. “Ajay is uniquely equipped to lead the World Bank at this critical moment in history…he also has critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to tackle the most urgent challenges of our time, including climate change.”
Less than a month before this nomination, Biden offered similar self-serving words to toot his own horn when talking about the changes he was pushing for in the banking industry.
“Junk fees may not matter to the very wealthy, but they matter to most folks in homes like the one I grew up in. They add up to hundreds of dollars a month. They make it harder for you to pay the bills or afford that family trip. I know how unfair it feels when a company overcharges you and gets away with it. Not anymore. We’ve written a bill to stop all that. It’s called the Junk Fee Prevention Act.”
Banga has already proven to the globe that he cannot handle such responsibility. During his time with Mastercard, the feds discovered he and other executives had made “preventable failures,” and prevented people from using their prepaid debit cards, as well as difficulties in making general payments or even receiving their paychecks. As a result, both Mastercard and UniRush were ordered to cough up $10 million in restitution and pay $3 million in fines.
This attempt to rebrand himself before the 2024 presidential elections is shameful at best. For decades, Biden has done the bidding of the banking industry in various votes and speeches while making the American consumer a distant second thought in the situation. Even as recently as 2005 when Biden sided with MBNA (which was later acquired by Mastercard), to tighten the regulations around bankruptcy. When passed, this legislation was seen as a huge victory for credit card companies, and as a detriment to the American consumer.
As it stood at the time, MBNA was the largest issuer of credit cards and became the largest donor Biden has ever seen in his 40-year political career. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) was widely considered to be the biggest advocate for consumers, and she denounced his decision there. “At a time when the biggest financial institutions in this country were trying to put the squeeze on millions of hardworking families. Joe Biden was on the side of the credit card companies.”
It should also be noted that Hunter Biden was being paid a half-million-dollar base salary by MBNA as a consultant at the time. With the then-Delaware Senator in their back pocket under this arrangement, the company could do little wrong. Especially with the bankruptcy legislation going their way under their own direction. Ironically enough, after the bankruptcy legislation was signed into effect Hunter’s contract with MBNA ended.
Biden’s recommendation here isn’t the rebranding of himself like he thinks it is. This is nothing more than the wolf putting on yet another sheep’s clothing. The American people know better, and certainly, the people at the World Bank should know better at this point. While Banga has a long track record and a terrific academic mindset, his track record is less than desirable. Instead of helping the common people, he will be looking to help the 1% at the top, and line their own pockets.
