Former Wall Street computer whizz Michael Osinski admits his work broke the banks

Telegraph.co,uk ^ | April 4, 2009 | Philip Sherwell

[Scanian]

As world leaders in London put the finishing touches to their G20 communiqué, Michael Osinski was up to his thighs in water on the other side of the Atlantic, retrieving oyster cages at low tide off a misty Long Island.

Nowadays, he supplies oysters to some of the best restaurants in Manhattan. But he was following the efforts to reach agreement on tackling the global economic crisis with a deep personal interest.

For in his previous incarnation, Mr Osinski played a crucial, if inadvertent, role in stirring up the financial whirlwind that has battered the world. As the top computer programmer for the titans of Wall St, he wrote the complex software that bundled home mortgages into bonds, making possible the subprime loans collapse that sparked the global meltdown.

"I didn't realise I was building a bomb at the time," said Mr Osinski, 55, as he reflected on his part in the worst slump since the Great Depression. "I thought I was building something that was a valuable tool for the industry. And for many years, it was." But, he added wistfully, "the software turned out to be more sophisticated than the people using it".

Mr Osinski decided to go public about his contribution to the crisis after two encounters in the same day. "I was in a coffee shop near my home and got talking to a stranger about what I used to do and at the end he said: 'You're the devil'," he recalled. "And shortly afterwards, I saw a friend and neighbour and he told me: 'You're the facilitator'."

[Scanian]

"Michael Osinski, a former Wall Street computer programmer whose fancy software tempted the banks into near collapse, says he is dismayed at the financial whirlwind."

[rbg81]

This “confession” sounds fishy to me. Why would anyone go public about this sort of thing? Does this guy have a complex? IMHO, the computer programmer is not responsible—its the guys who made the buy/sell business decisions.

[kenth]

He’s not the Devil. Pitchfork crafter maybe.

[LomanBill]

>>"I didn't realise I was building a bomb at the time,"

 

And you probably didn't CARE either, did you, A$$hole.

 

 

 

 

 

All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

It is incumbent upon the honorable craftsman

to be aware of whether or not his services are being used

as a means to accomplish evil ends -

and to act accordingly.

Never run away from the truth.
Always do what you believe is right.

Veritas Honor!

[LomanBill]

A number of the “computer wizes” that E!mpowered Ameriquest came from Enron.

Enough said?

[beebuster2000]

anyone know anything about oystering? those traps he is in front of look like lobster traps. i dont think you catch oysters in a trap, do you?

[TLI]

"And shortly afterwards, I saw a friend and neighbour and he told me: 'You're the facilitator'."

No different than blaming the gun for the murder or the spoon for over eating.

[american colleen]

If a skilled H1-B had been hired to replace this undereducated American, this would never have happened. /sarc

[angkor]

http://nymag.com/news/business/55687/

My Manhattan Project

How I helped build the bomb that blew up Wall Street.

[Bedford Forrest]

What a self-important twit! A computer boffin writes the data link software for a JDAM and then takes a bow for smoking Mecca. The little twit makes Walter Mitty look potent, not to mention modest. Hey Mikey - you’re a back room boffin - a flunkie - guys like you are bought and sold by the pound.

[Chode]

First Law of Computer Programming:Garbage IN, Garbage OUT...

[snowsislander]

The Telegraph somehow managed to leave out of the "going public" part that not only did Mr. Osinski have a coffee shop talk and then a nice chat with the Telegraph, but he also wrote a lengthy first-person account of his years in the industry in New York magazine:

My Manhattan Project

[SES1066]

those traps he is in front of look like lobster traps.

No, I think that is an oyster rake. You drag it along the bottom and scrape the oysters into it and then the top closes so that you can retrieve the load.

[Leo Carpathian]

I wrote the software that turned mortgages into bonds.

Uhmmm, like: REPLACE "mortgage" with "bond"???

[MontaniSemperLiberi]

Mr. Osinski is an idiot. He sold something to his clients that he should have known could not be created.

No matter how hard the computer works, the coin will come up heads or tails. The computer can't prevent it from landing.

[Nonperson]

Bump!

[cowboyway]

i dont think you catch oysters in a trap, do you?

Oysters are raked.

What he's standing in front of look like crap traps.

[Tribune7]

This “confession” sounds fishy to me.

It probably has to do with the pix of him with the oyster traps.

[tubebender]

They look like cages for growing oyster seed prior to scattering in bay waters for further growth...

[Moonman62]

This “confession” sounds fishy to me. Why would anyone go public about this sort of thing? Does this guy have a complex? IMHO, the computer programmer is not responsible—its the guys who made the buy/sell business decisions.

You're right. It's the managers who thought that they could write insurance on the bonds without risk (but who really knew better) who are the bad guys.

Perhaps this guy wants publicity for writing a book, otherwise he is extremely stupid for going public like this.