Documents obtained under FOI Act blocked by Government, ASIC, Treasury, Macquarie Group deals.

If you were wondering about there being different rules for banks and us, listen to this interview and read on  the full report.

It sounds a lot like ASIC changed investment rules to protect Macquarie Group.

Backroom deals?

2:18PM Thursday Aug 09, 2012

MacBank's 'intense lobbying campaign'

Macquarie Group was behind an intense lobbying campaign for survival during the GFC. Ian Verrender reports.

Recording of interview:http://www.businessday.com.au/business/revealed-macbanks-code-red-to-the-government-20100516-v6cp.html

AS THE tsunami engulfing global markets in September 2008 crashed into Lehman Bros, a besieged Macquarie Group wasted little time swinging into action.

Under attack from short-selling hedge funds and with its share price plunging by half, Macquarie launched a concerted lobbying effort with the government and regulators.

Documents obtained by BusinessDay under freedom-of-information laws reveal the haste and well-targeted strategy Macquarie employed as the maelstrom of the global financial crisis rocked banks around the world.

Macquarie's efforts appear to have been brutally efficient - within days the Australian Securities and Investments Commission would impose a ban on the short-selling of financial stocks - an investment strategy used to make money by punting on a share price falling further - that would halt the plummet of the bank's shares.

Within weeks, the government would implement a banking deposit guarantee and a wholesale lending agreement letting Macquarie and other banks use the government's stronger AAA rating to borrow money when credit markets were closed. The backroom dealing began within hours of the collapse of Lehman Bros on September 15, sparking the most intense phase of the global credit squeeze.

More on the link page above.