Today's Outrage: Clouds Over Citi, BofA

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The storms on Wall Street seem never ending. Every ray of light gets clouded over by some new revelation of ineptitude or intransigence.

Now the finger pointing and blame chasing is back in full force, with Bank of America (BAC Quote) CEO Ken Lewis facing renewed scrutiny over his handling of the Merrill Lynch (MER Quote) acquisition.

An investigation by a congressional committee is implicating Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's role in all this too.

This doesn't bode well for investor confidence.

Regardless who did what or why, one thing is clear: Shareholders were given short shrift amid the emergency rescue operations that helped shore up our financial system when it was on the brink of collapse.

Some may say that the ends justify the means. Perhaps we are all better off now anyway. But I still believe that it should have been possible to bail out the banks without shafting the shareholders.

I don't much care for the blame game, but I do hope we learn some lessons.

That doesn't seem to be the case over at Citigroup (C Quote). Despite being the poster child for all the bungled banking businesses out there and among the biggest recipients of taxpayer cash infusions, Citi is blithely continuing with business as usual with big bonuses and salaries.

Citi says it's just trying to remain competitive and hold onto talent. That's probably true. The bank is no doubt struggling to keep folks motivated, considering all the negative publicity and its paltry $3 share price.