CRONIES GONNA CRONY: Julian Castro Helps Wall Street Criminals Dodge Accountability.

Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase appeared to score a significant victory Tuesday after the Department of Housing and Urban Development suggested it won’t punish lenders for major crimes committed by their corporate parents.

The announcement concerns a requirement that lenders in HUD’s mortgage insurance program certify they haven’t been convicted of violating federal antitrust laws or other serious crimes. Citi and JPMorgan in May pleaded guilty to felony charges that they broke federal antitrust laws for their traders’ participation in a yearslong scheme to manipulate currency markets for profit. Both companies own banks that make mortgages that are later insured by the HUD-overseen Federal Housing Administration.

But on Tuesday, Secretary Julián Castro’s housing agency proposed modifying the required certification in a way that would apply only to HUD-registered lenders. The lenders’ parent companies wouldn’t be on the hook, thus seemingly enabling Citi and JPMorgan’s HUD-registered units to continue certifying that they haven’t pleaded guilty to federal antitrust charges.

Laws are for the little, unconnected people.