Banking Committee: Videos of CEOs’ opening statements

We heard testimony before the House Banking Committee in Washington today. The CEOs of eight large financial institutions are being raked over the coals by Congress. It was a scene which reminded me of the Pecora Hearings during the Great Depression. It was also one which is being repeated in London.

The Congressmen are ludicrously indignant — after all, Congress has been complicit in the state of affairs. One member of Congress asked the men (there are no women) to raise their hand to questions on several occassions like schoolboys in a classroom — questions akin to “when did you stop beating your wife.”

I see these proceedings as more show trial to reassure the public than anything substantive. Nevertheless, they are entertaining. Below are videos of the opening statements from each of the CEOs. You might find their comments illuminating regarding their thinking now that the economy has collapsed and they have needed governement assistance.

You should also note that not all of these banks are in a precarious way. Some are better off than others

The worst M&A deals of all-time

As the financial industry further unraveled yesterday, Mathieu Robbins of the Irish Indendent asked a worthwhile question: Was RBS the idiot company of all-time in buying ABN Amro at the top of the market? Robbins says no and offers up nine other equally monstrous deals that all went seriously pear-shaped to prove it

Citigroup and Morgan Stanley: the City Morgue is now open

It’s a done deal. The Citigroup – Morgan Stanley dance is now over. The price for a 51% stake Smith Barney was $2.7 Billion. The seems like a very low valuation here but I haven’t looked through the terms of the deal in depth.

This is the press release that Morgan Stanley released for the deal

Citigroup: the financial supermarket is dead

Vikram Pandit understands the seriousness of the challenge ahead, if Citi wants to remain a going concern. He must break the firm up and end Citi’s disastrous experiment with becoming a financial supermarket

Rubin resigns from Citigroup

This just hit the wires. Apparently, Bob Rubin has tendered his resignation at Citigroup.

Here is he story from the Wall Street Journal

Citi agrees to do cramdowns

After meetings with lawmakers, Citigroup has agreed to back legislation that would allow bankruptcy judges to alter the amount due on mortgage principal, so called cram downs.

As it stands today, all other debtors including corporations have the cram down option available in bankruptcy court. However, changes to bankruptcy law have eliminated this option for mortgages, creating an impasse as house prices have dropped

A quick note on corporate bankruptcy and bailouts

Bankruptcy is a necessary part of a free market. I certainly believe this to be so. Rick Newman, who writes the blog “Flow Chart” over at U.S. News, is putting forward the provocative idea that failure is exactly what we needed more of in 2008 and what we should want in

The Citigroup Bailout: a blogosphere post-mortem

When a bank with $2.2 trillion in assets is saved from potential ruin, it is big news. So, as you can imagine, every one and his brother has a take on what went wrong at Citigroup and whether the solution to ‘fix’ Citi was the right one. Below are a number of the best links to commentaries around the blogosphere regarding Citi’s demise

The Citigroup Bailout

It looks like we have a solution to Citi’s crisis. The U.S. Government agreed to bailout Citigroup, backing $306 billion of debt in exchange for preferred equity and warrants plus a host of other details I will enumerate below. On the whole this looks to be a better deal for the U.S. Government and American taxpayers than the AIG deal. However, it is yet another ad-hoc band-aid when a comprehensive solution is preferable

Citigroup: Panics, Banking Confidence, Bailouts and Fractional Reserves

Citigroup is in serious trouble. The storied institution with $2 trillion in assets has seen its shares collapse and its reputation is in tatters as it goes cap in hand to the U.S. government for a bailout. Indeed, a solution must be found as Citi is a monster of a bank, three times the size of Lehman Brothers, whose collapse caused untold damage two months ago. As I write this, Citigroup is meeting with U.S. Government officials to hammer out an agreement to set the firm on the right path. We can only hope these talks bear fruit

Citigroup talks with US Government as bankruptcy looms

Reuters is reporting that persons familiar with the matter have indicated that Citigroup began talks with the U.S. Government as contingency planning. With Citigroup’s share price having plunged dramatically in recent days, rumors have been circulating about the firm. Yesterday, the Board of Directors met to discuss strategic options including a sale of all or part of the firm. It is now evident that the government may need to get involved

News round-up: 21 Nov 2008 – Countries, Citigroup, and Corporates

Today’s round-up is going to principally be about the three CCC’s of Countries, Citigroup and Corporates.  But I also have some tidbits on other topics as well.  So let’s jump right in. Yesterday sucked. Markets fell everywhere from Australia to Hong Kong to France to the U.S.  The U.S. fell to a 11-year low (adjusted