bankster

English

Etymology

Blend of banker +‎ gangster. Popularized in the Pecora Commission (1932–1934) that investigated the causes of the Wall Street crash of 1929.[1] The term was later used by Léon Degrelle, Belgian fascist politician and journalist, in 1937 as a pejorative term for high financiers.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈbæŋkstə/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)

Noun

bankster (plural banksters)

  1. (informal, derogatory) A banker who is seen as criminally irresponsible, or as extorting bailout money from the taxpayers.
    • 1992 January, Murray Rothbard, “Right-Wing Populism: A Strategy for the Paleo Movement”, in Rothbard-Rockwell Report‎[2], page 9:
      Stop supporting bums abroad. Stop all foreign aid, which is aid to banksters and their bonds and their export industries.
    • 2009 February 15, Andrew Rawnsley, “The cabinet's quarrels are a warning of the storms ahead”, in The Observer‎[3]:
      Hearing Sir Fred the Shred and the rest of them utter some hedged half-apologies has not made the public feel any warmer to the banksters.

Derived terms

Translations

Translations

References

  1. ^ Gilbert King (29 November 2011) “The man who busted the banksters”, in Smithsonian Magazine‎[1], archived from the original on 16 November 2019

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