Ameribank: the latest FDIC bankruptcy takeover

Today, after the markets closed, in another Friday Night Special, the FDIC announced the failure of Ameribank. This represents the 12th bank failure this year and the 14th since the credit crisis began last August. See my list of Bankrupt global financial institutions for major bankruptcies and my Credit Crisis Timeline for all bank writedown

Disappearance of capital sources is true cause of Lehman failure and AIG rescue

Why did Lehman really fail? The equity window is effectively closed for most financial services companies. This fact was the true trigger for the meltdown in AIG and Lehman and the problems at WaMu, HBOS and Merrill Lynch.

Moreover, it will be the trigger for a lot of the financial services bankruptcies going forward

AIG: a short post-mortem

The meltdown of the world’s largest insurer AIG (AIG) makes the stakes of this credit crisis plain to all. In my view, the AIG situation and the subsequent turmoil in financial markets could have been avoided. The markets were clearly on edge at this time last week. However, Hank Paulson and Ben Bernanke, worried about

Dick Fuld feels horrible about Lehman collapse

Dick Fuld, the Chief Executive of the beleaguered and now bankrupt investment bank Lehman Brothers, finally addressed staff after the worlds largest bankruptcy in history. He told staff he felt horrible for their personal and financial loss. Below is Bloomberg’s summary of the event. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld told the

Lloyds gets HBOS for a song

Lloyds TSB has announced that it will buy rival HBOS for 232 pence a share. Back in May 2007, just over a year ago, HBOS shares were trading for almost £17 each. However, HBOS closed trading today at £1.47, sustaining a loss of over 90% in 16 months time. While HBOS is often touted as

Desperate Housewives – UK style

Update 04 Mar 2009: Marshall Auerback sent me a story about Dresdner bankers suing to get tens of millons in bonuses. Obviously the house in Kent and the private clubs and schools have to be paid for. His story here reminded me of this article which I am re-posting.

The headline of an article in the Times of London caught my eye this morning. It read: After Lehman Brothers: desperate City wives. The article makes for interesting reading. People who used to live in the lap of luxury go from gazillionaire to being penniless overnight as their entire net worth is wiped out.

Love them or hate them, investment bankers are taking a shock to the system

Consolidation through merger over bankruptcy

As we plan for another day in financial turmoil, I have to admit to preferring financial services industry consolidation through merger to bankruptcy. I was just reading FT Alphaville‘s post on a proposed Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS (the UK equivalent of a JP Morgan Chase takeover of Washington Mutual) and I thought, “what a

Why Lehman failed

It’s been bothering me for some time — the fact that Lehman failed and Merrill was taken out at a deal time value that was a significant premium to both book value and the prevailing price of its shares in the market. It seems rather unfair. You’ve got Lehman on the one side, swept into

Barclays gets “core Lehman” assets

It’s done. Core Lehman is sold. Now the rest of the company can be liquidated. Barclays will buy the core assets for a measly $2 billion. For Lehman staff in the US, this has to be a relief. However, staff in London are probably left out in the cold as Barclays sees this operation as

S&P cuts HBOS counterparty credit ratings

In yet another move by ratings agencies likely to roil markets, HBOS has been cut by S&P. Given the fact that HBOS is the biggest loser to date in the European banking sector in the wake of Lehman’s collapse. This cannot be seen as good news. Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday it is lowering its

AIG situation looks critical

One reason I came out this morning against the Fed and the U.S. Treasury’s decision to allow Lehman Brothers to go bankrupt is the arbitrariness of its decision-making process. Lehman is easily more of a systemic risk than Bear Stearns and is certainly a larger company. Why let Lehman fail? Why rescue Fannie and Freddie?

How safe is your money?

I am not a certified financial planner and therefore, do not give financial advice or investment advice. Anyone looking for financial advice is advised to see a independent certified financial planner to help them with their investments. The Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation is a certification mark for financial planners conferred by the Certified Financial