In the June 1 New York Times article by Gretchen Morgenson, the big U.S. banks' rush to battle against regulation was revealed:

"As the financial crisis entered one of its darkest phases in October, a handful of the nation's largest banks began holding daily telephone sessions.  Murmurs were already emanating from Washington about the need for a wide-ranging regulatory overhaul, and Wall Street executives girded for a fight.

"Atop the agenda during their calls how to counter an expected attempt to rein in credit default swaps and other derivatives, the sophisticated and profitable financial instruments that were intended to limit risk but instead had helped take the economy to the brink of disaster."

What so-called credit swaps and derivatives achieved for the big banks that profited from them was to transform banks into complicated gambling casinos.