Today Gregory Wilpert interviews William Black, the author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One. Black is an expert in financial regulation and currently an advisor of the Rafael Correa administration in Ecuador. But the conversation focuses on new attempts to totally do away with already weakened banking regulations in the United States, including a new law recently passed by Congress. Black stresses that deregulation and de-supervision are major causes of recurring financial crises including the 2008 crash with US$34 trillion in lost productivity and 10 million jobs. The financial industry is now seeking to guarantee a subsidy to the 5 largest banks U.S. banks trading in derivatives, he says, noting that these huge banks do 95% of such trading. Black confirms the reality that both Republicans and Democrats receive large campaign donations from the financial sector and are beholden to them. He adds that big finance is the leading campaign contributor to both political parties in presidential races. What can the public do? Black recommends taking the profit out of cheating by prosecuting elite bank officers for fraud and publicizing their cases. He brings up Iceland as an example, where three major CEOs were recently convicted because the people got fed up and demanded an end to bank fraud. teleSUR