Their Role Wasn’t to Question Customers, Just as a Sewage Company Doesn’t Ask What You Ate for Dinner

Summary

The episode examines how U.S. Congressman Wright Patman reshaped banking regulation, turning banks from passive cash conduits into active gatekeepers tasked with monitoring and reporting suspicious activity. It contrasts the pre‑Patman view of banks as mere plumbing with the post‑Patman model of fortified, surveillance‑focused institutions. The discussion also references Oliver Bullough’s book *Everybody Loves Our Dollars*, which reveals how modern money‑laundering networks exploit financial systems, highlighting the ongoing tension between secrecy and transparency.