Financial hearings can be dull, but they spring to life when shadowy mon-eymen are dragged into the spotlight. This week it was the turn of Joseph Cassano, one of the most elusive protagonists of the crisis, who broke his silence before America's Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission. The financial-products (fp) division that Mr Cassano ran was the epicentre of the earthquake at aig. After insuring $70 billion of dodgy mortgage debt, the firm was caught in an almighty liquidity squeeze when the debt's market value fell. Outrage over the resulting government rescue was compounded by news that Mr Cassano had earned $3ism on his watch and secured a $im-a-month consultancy with the firm after being pushed out.
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