Category: Financial Institutions
Lehman was bankrupt
Just moments ago Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave a speech in which he said the following about Lehman Brother: “there was not enough collateral to support the lending.” This was Bernanke’s response to a question about whether the Fed erred in letting Lehman fail the way it did. I am on record for saying
The Last King of Scotland
In Scotland, one of the UK’s most venerated names, the Royal Bank of Scotland, a bank that prints its own bank notes as legal tender, has been eviscerated by the over-leveraging and risk-taking of its CEO Sir Fred Goodwin. Sir Fred, an accountant by training, started his career at Touche Ross, a precursor to the
Nationwide: example of how UK recap scheme matters
If you don’t think that the recapitalisation scheme by Gordon Brown doesn’t matter, then take a look no further than Nationwide Building Society. The mutual company is not under pressure in the equity markets like RBS, HBOS or Barclays. Yet, it too is going to take full advantage of the capital strengthening that the UK
Sovereign Bancorp: Santander looking to buy regional bank
Spanish banking giant Banco Santander has pulled through the credit crisis with a much higher profile than ever before. I was initially skeptical that the firm was hiding huge losses at it had exposure in Spain, the UK and the US, all terrible bubble markets. Yet, it has seemed to come through swimmingly and is
Lehman Brothers: a primer on Credit Default Swaps
The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers was a credit event which triggered a massive liability to participants in the large and potentially dangerous Credit Default Swaps (CDS) market. This is a market that represents the “weapons of financial mass destruction” label which Warren Buffett gave to the derivatives. Below, I will attempt to explain, with much
Initial results of Lehman CDS auction
This comes via Credit Fixings. The auction process to settle Credit Default Swap trades on Lehman Brothers bonds put the value of the debt at 9.75 cents on the dollar. That is much lower than one would have expected (12 cents on the dollar was the expected rate according to Market Beat). While this is
Writedown news: 7 Oct 2008
As I do every week, I am updating you with links to important news in the credit crisis. These links are compiled in my credit crisis timeline, which is the most comprehensive list credit crisis links on the Internet. However, one big hole in this list is that it does not include major central bank
Bank of America cuts its dividend
In a move widely anticipated for months by many analysts, Meredith Whitney amongst others, Bank of America has finally cut its dividend. Releasing its earning report two weeks early, BofA said it would cut the dividend 50%. I view the move as much needed because BofA needs to start husbanding cash in order to deal
BNP takes over Dutch-Belgian bank Fortis
Fortis, the nationalised Belgo-Dutch bank and largest private employer in Belgium. This is a good thing as I have a distinct preference for mergers over bankruptcy or long-term nationalisation as a way to hep consolidate and rationalize the global financial services industry. Let’s hope that the new BNP Paribas, an amalgamation of Banque Nationale de
The Europeanisation of the Credit Crisis
I have been a bit on edge of late because of the credit crisis that is making headlines. Recently, a lot of people have been duped into believing that the economic crisis we are experiencing is not critical and have their eyes focused elsewhere. However, this event is potentially the most critical event in world
Did JP Morgan cause Lehman’s bankruptcy?
According to the Times of London, that’s what Lehman’s creditors seem to suggest in Lehman’s bankruptcy filings. Apparently, JP Morgan cut Lehman off the night before it filed for bankruptcy and creditors are blaming this action for Lehman Brothers failure. RUUUBBISH! I don’t buy it one bit — Lehman was bankrupt all on its own.
Europe is in for a rude awakening
The Europeans have no idea what is about to hit them. Their banking system is collapsing and European politicians are fighting amongst themselves. At French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s crisis summit, the politicians were unable to craft a comprehensive or wide-reaching response to deal with the banking crisis. Meanwhile, the carnage in European banking is increasing.