So, all's well that ends well, right? The government's making an $18 billion profit on its TARP bailout, or at least that part of it which went to the banks. (Never mind the $30 billion in losses on the money that went to AIG.) Kuwait has made $1.1 [...]
In his paper Deeper in Dept, Dr. Steve Keen over at the Centre for Policy Development examines four possible explanations for the Australian housing development (p.14):
(quoted)
Lower interest rates - the increase in debt is simply a rational response to the fact the credit is cheaper, and [...]
Jim asks: "Wouldn't it be something if the builders end up beating the banks to the buyers? The banks are satisfied to drip them out - so the builders end up flooding the market and soak up all the buyers."As a result of legislative convenience, bureaucratic imperative and historical happenstance, a variety of responsibilities have accreted to the Fed over the years. In addition to conducting monetary policy, the Fed also distributes currency, runs the system through which banks transfer funds, supervises financial holding companies [...]
I'm going to put forward two perspectives on why bad banks might be important in understanding the recession: an orthodox perspective; and a heterodox perspective.
Banks are financial intermediaries. A financial intermediary is a firm whose (primary) business is borrowing and lending. (They intermediate between the ultimate borrowers and the ultimate [...]
AmTrust was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision this evening, with New York Community Bank assuming all deposits.
Also, three more banks in Georgia were closed today.
[...]
… both sounding like one and government policy. Usual scenario: (1) RBA changes interest rates, (2) banks immediate react but don’t do the same thing — almost always passing on less or, apparently, taking more — (3) Treasurer says consumers should use their feet and switch banks; (4) consumers work [...]
Cleveland's AmTrust Financial Corp. has filed for bankruptcy. However, AmTrust Bank, one of the largest banks in the country with 66 branches and 1,700 employees is still open (but, its Friday).
"The bankruptcy filing is a shrewd move, said the former regulator, who didn't want to be named because'" [...]
Ben Bernanke was contrite yesterday, as well he should have been:
“There were mistakes made all around,” Mr. Bernanke said. “I did not anticipate a crisis of this magnitude and this severity.”
We should have required [banks to hold] more capital, more liquidity,” Mr. Bernanke added. “We should have required more [...]
I wonder what it was like to be Ben Bernanke today, on the receiving end of an absolute lashing from Senator Jim Bunning. Here's a taster:
Chairman Greenspan’s attitude toward regulating banks was much like his attitude toward consumer protection. Instead of close supervision of the biggest and most dangerous [...]
Banks' public disclosures have always been on the opaque side. But now things are worse than ever, according to Nomi Prins, who should know:
In the cases of Bank of America, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, the preferred tactic is re-classification and opaqueness. These moves make it virtually impossible to get' [...]
If the theoretical discussion in the context of monetary policy, through most of 2009, has been centered on the different tools disposable to central banks in the form of unconvetional measures it seems almost certain that 2010 will be all about putting theory into action. Most notably is of [...]
David Reilly has a good column today about bank health and capital ratios, honing in on the crucial fact that having a fair amount of capital is not in and of itself sufficient to reassure investors — or even the FDIC — that a bank is healthy. 96% of [...]
Dubai announced last Wednesday that it would ask creditors of Dubai World, the conglomerate behind its rapid expansion (it built the world's tallest building), and Nakheel, the builder of its palm-shaped islands, to agree to freeze debt repayments for six months.
Some commentators are of the view that banks that [...]
Ryan Grim gets a great quote out of Treasury today, trying to explain why they're pushing to allow banks to open branches in any state they like, despite the opposition of small banks, individual states, and Barney Frank:
“This eliminates a difference between thrifts and banks. While banks are subject' [...]
The UAE over the weekend provided a partial ‘Bridge Over Troubled Waters’ to those impacted by the Dubai request for a debt restructuring by giving assurances to local banks that have exposure to Dubai but they did not give any commentary on what they will do directly with Dubai and [...]
Peter T Treadway also serves as Chief Economist, CT RISKS, Hong Kong.
THE DISMAL OPTIMIST
November 29, 2009
The Global Liquidity Bubble Claims Another VictimAs this letter goes out the world is scrambling to find out which banks and which countries are most exposed to Dubai and Dubai World, which has now announced [...]
