That’s how my friend Jeff described the most recent flap over a banker allegedly using religion to defend the industry.
If you haven’t caught it, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein was quoted in the Sunday London Times as saying “we have a social purpose,” in referring to the banking industry. What caught everyone’s eye was the [...]
Financial Institutions's archives
May the Lloyd be with you
Nov
FDIC shutters five more banks
Nov
Of the five, United Commercial is pretty darn big ($11.2 billion in assets)
United Commercial Bank San Francisco, CA
As of October 23, 2009, United Commercial Bank had total assets of $11.2 billion and total deposits of approximately $7.5 billion. East West Bank paid the FDIC a premium of 1.1 percent for the right [...]
The wildly optimistic view of Treasury’s handling of the crisis
Nov
I was reading Kid Dynamite’s account of the recent Treasury – Finance Blogger meeting after having read a bunch of others (see them all in Abnormal Returns’ Nov 4th links). And I was struck by his characterization of the thinking at Treasury in regards to the financial crisis. I want to highlight two points and [...]
Nils Pratley: A tale of two banks at RBS and Lloyds
Nov
Nils Pratley’s piece at the Guardian on RBS and Lloyds is very good. Two quotes sum up the situation quite well.
First, in regards to Lloyds, Pratley says:
Royal Bank of Scotland’s shares down almost 20% in two days; Lloyds’s shares an oasis of tranquillity. Those market reactions tell the story of the banking bailout part 3, [...]
113 views
Lloyds to raise 21 billion pounds in biggest rights issue ever
Nov
Lloyds are looking to avoid the embrace of government by going to existing shareholders to raise capital and sidestep the draconian break-up solution foisted upon RBS by Neelie Kroes. According to Bloomberg, this is the largest rights issue ever for a British company and equates to $34 billion.
All of this must be excruciating for Lloyds [...]
101 views
The EU driving changes in European banking
Nov
At the weekend I wrote about Alistair Darling’s about-face on breaking up to big to fail financial institutions. Apparently, this was not a case of labour changing tack and finding regulatory religion, but rather of the European Union imposing its will on the British government. The EU is also dictating policy in Germany, the Netherlands [...]
111 views
UK: Darling confirms government to break up too big to fail banks
Nov
In a clear break with US economic policy, the UK government have decided that too big to fail is too big to exist. As a result, three large financial institutions now owned at least in part by government are to be dismantled. Moreover, talk of Tesco’s or Virgin getting the assets is yet another momentous [...]
613 views
CIT will now file for bankruptcy
Nov
CIT has the approval of debtholders to file a prepackaged bankruptcy. This comes via Business Wire:
CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT), a leading provider of financing to small businesses and middle market companies, today announced that, with the overwhelming support of its debtholders, the Board of Directors voted to proceed with the prepackaged plan of reorganization [...]
GMAC has been nationalized
Oct
And you thought the bailouts were over and market discipline might be restored. Not a chance – the bailouts will continue, come hell or high water. The latest demonstration of this is GMAC, where the government will now be majority owner. GMAC has officially been nationalized. Now the government is running auto financing in addition [...]
Former Citi Chairman in favor of re-imposing Glass-Steagall
Oct
This comes via the NYTimes:
To the Editor:
Re “Volcker’s Voice, Often Heeded, Fails to Sell a Bank Strategy” (front page, Oct. 21):
As another older banker and one who has experienced both the pre- and post-Glass-Steagall world, I would agree with Paul A. Volcker (and also Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England) that some kind [...]
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