Madoff and CNBC

CNBC should mention this significant wrinkle rather than being riveted to the Madoff cam outside his apartment.

"Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc and UBS AG may be liable for as much as $3.2 billion of losses linked to Bernard Madoff in a dispute over the duties of financial custodians at funds in Luxembourg and Ireland.

Custodians are charged with oversight of funds and they manage cash inflows and payments to investors. Those looking to recoup money would have to prove the banks failed to fulfill their duties, according to nine lawyers surveyed by Bloomberg News. HSBC has said it isn’t liable and UBS declined to comment on the issue."

This is a crock of shit. A fund custodian is responsible for oversight in the same way that my bank is responsible for oversight of my checking account. They are responsible for keeping The Riddler and The Joker from taking money from my account. They are not responsible for keeping me from taking money from my account.

This is going to be a case of everybody suing everybody but this part of it better not get off the ground.