BANKERS PREPARE TO SPEND...ANONYMOUSLY: Earlier this year we reported on what appeared to be an attempt by a group of banks to form a super PAC, which they said would let them "carry a big stick" and convince lawmakers that they'd work to kick them out of office if need be....Yesterday, the American Bankers Association (the national trade association that represents all banks, but particularly big banks) voted to form a new 501(c)(4) group -- a politically active nonprofit that can collect unlimited sums of cash to run politically-oriented advertisements, and, thanks to IRS rules about nonprofits, doesn't have to disclose any of its donors.

According to Bloomberg, the purpose of the group will be to collect donations from the ABA's member banks and then donate the money to super PACs that will attack or support various U.S. Senate candidates. While super PACs have to publicly disclose their donors, because the money will be coming from the 501(c)(4), the original source of the funds will remain anonymous.

Why go to the extra step of giving the money to a 501(c)(4) group and not just give directly to a super PAC? As we've seen recently, shareholders of big companies might take issue with large political donations from corporate coffers, and Wall Street's somewhat diminished reputation these days might make politicians less enthusiastic about having big banks on their side. But pushing the money through 501(c)(4) organizations, which we've dubbed shadow money groups for their lack of disclosure, wipes away any negative connotations -- for both the donors and the politicians who benefit.

For now, the ABA told Bloomberg, the new group will be focusing on Senate races. But Lee Fang at The Nation notes that the ABA's president is Frank Keating, a former Oklahoma governor and major Mitt Romney supporter who has been identified as one of Romney's top advisors on financial matters.

http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2012/09/capital-eye-opener-september-7.html