http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/bank/ en-us Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:39:47 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051544/posts By John Poirier WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. regulators took over two banks on Friday and sold them to Mutual of Omaha Bank, the sixth and seventh bank failures this year as financial institutions struggle with a housing bust and credit crunch. ADVERTISEMENT Two weeks after the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp seized IndyMac Bancorp Inc (Other OTC:IDMC.PK - News), the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it closed First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank NA of California. First National had total assets of $3.4 billion and $3 billion in deposits while First Heritage had assets of... Reuters via Yahoo! News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2051544/posts#comment Sat, 26 Jul 2008 02:39:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050595/posts NEW YORK, July 22 (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday said it may cut its ratings on Washington Mutual Inc.'s senior unsecured debt into junk territory, after the largest U.S. savings and loan posted a $3.33 billion second-quarter loss. The net loss equaled $6.58 per share as souring mortgages forced it to set aside more money for loan losses. "WaMu's asset quality issues primarily relate to the company's residential mortgage portfolio, but deterioration is also being experienced in the company's credit card portfolio," Moody's said in a statement. "To establish the necessary provisioning for this asset quality deterioration, Moody's... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2050595/posts#comment Thu, 24 Jul 2008 15:58:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047357/posts Worst Case ScenarioBy John RileyChief Strategist07/15/08 What a year - bank and brokerage failures, Federal bailouts, sub-prime mortgage mess and a looming derivative disaster. What would happen if things continue to unravel? What would that look like?Runs on the BanksWith the failure of IndyMac, we’ve already seen a run on a bank force its closure. What if a few more banks had runs? Depositor panic could cause runs at several banks that are on the edge of failure. A run could push them over. The FDIC is spending about 10% of its reserves on bailing out IndyMac. How many more... Cornerstone http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2047357/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:24:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046473/posts All of the area National City Bank locations seem to be closed in my area today, and according to an AP story, their stocks took a dive. Anyone else hear anything or find their locations closed? http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2046473/posts#comment Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:11:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2045908/posts The Idiot Parade Preview How do you spell "No Confidence"? I'd say that the futures market did a damn good job getting in front of Humphrey-Hawkins, wouldn't you? Down 18 handles at the peak at roughly 5:30 this morning. Hmmmm.... Why? Because all we have seen is more jawboning overnight. Ms. FDIC continues to chant "Banking deposits are overwhelmingly safe", instead of getting out in front of the actual issue and allowing us to see which banks hold crap (that is being intentionally mis-marked) and which are not. The truth must replace gum-flapping. Merideth Whitney apparently agrees - she said:... The Market Ticker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2045908/posts#comment Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:17:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045273/posts PASADENA, California (Reuters) - IndyMac Bancorp Inc customers lined up outside a branch at the company's headquarters on Monday, hoping to withdraw their money after regulators seized what was once one of the largest mortgage lenders in the United States. Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2045273/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 17:30:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044975/posts The federal government's seizure of IndyMac Bank is deepening worries among executives, regulators and consumers about the U.S. banking industry, which is in a tightening bind following a long run of prosperity. The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044975/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jul 2008 01:25:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044172/posts On July 11, 2008, IndyMac Bank, F.S.B., Pasadena, CA was closed by the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named Conservator. All non-brokered insured deposit accounts and substantially all of the assets of IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. have been transferred to IndyMac Federal Bank, F.S.B. (IndyMac Federal Bank), Pasadena, CA ("assuming institution") a newly chartered full-service FDIC-insured institution. No advance notice is given to the public when a financial institution is closed. The FDIC has assembled useful information regarding your relationship with this institution. Besides a checking account, you may have Certificates of Deposit,... federal deposit insurance corporation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044172/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 22:33:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044182/posts IndyMac Bank, a prolific mortgage specialist that helped fuel the housing boom, was seized Friday by federal regulators in one of the largest bank failures in U.S. history. The Pasadena, Calif., thrift was one of the largest savings and loans in the country with about $32 billion in assets. It now joins an infamous list of collapsed banks, topped by Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Co., which failed in 1984 with $40 billion of assets. IndyMac specialized in Alt-A loans, a type of mortgage that can often be offered to borrowers who don't fully document their incomes or assets.... Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2044182/posts#comment Fri, 11 Jul 2008 23:18:12 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2034709/posts I just found this website: http://www.kiva.org/ The company screens entrepreneurs in developing areas who are looking for microloans, then posts their loan applications online. Anyone who wants to can lend them money in increment as small as $25. For instance, if a potato farmer in Peru loses their seed crop to blight, they can apply for the loan needed to buy new seed to restart their farm. Microloans have gotten a lot of attention from lending institutions because, even though it involves lending to people who seem high-risk, the default rates have turned out to be very low. Kiva's default... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2034709/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jun 2008 14:25:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032305/posts An attempted bank robbery in Canton played out like a scene from a movie Monday when a man who claimed to have a bomb was stopped by a customer armed with a pistol. According to police, the customer pulled out a .9 mm handgun (for which he had a CCW permit), racked a bullet in the chamber, pointed it at the man and announced, "You are not robbing this bank!" WXYZ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2032305/posts#comment Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:01:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030940/posts Barclays accused of giving Robert Mugabe 'financial lifeline' By Maurice Gerard Last Updated: 3:06am BST 14/06/2008 Barclays Bank is being accused of giving Robert Mugabe's government a "financial lifeline" in the run-up to Zimbabwe's presidential election, it emerged yesterday. A Barclays spokesman said the bank provided essential services to ordinary Zimbabweans Barclays' Zimbabwean subsidiary lent the Mugabe regime $46.4 million (£23 million) last year through its purchase of government and municipal bonds and is one of the main contributors to a government-run loan scheme for farm improvements, the Agricultural Sector Productivity Enhancement Facility (Aspef). At least five ministers have received... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2030940/posts#comment Sat, 14 Jun 2008 03:40:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024088/posts I see nothing in the present situation that is either menacing or warrants pessimism. . . . I have every confidence that there will be a revival of activity in the spring and that during the coming year this country could make steady progress. --Andrew W. Mellon, U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, December 31, 1929 The bursting of every bubble is followed by statements suggesting that the worst is over and that the real economy will be unharmed. The weeks since mid-March have been such a period in the United States. The underlying problem--a bust in the residential real-estate market--has,... AEI Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2024088/posts#comment Sat, 31 May 2008 18:10:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2023947/posts A woman claiming George W. Bush was threatening to kill her stormed a bank armed with a shotgun and held people hostage, police said. Investigators said Donna Sue Bynum, 40, burst into a Bank of America located on Central Florida Parkway Friday night and threatened to kill everyone. "She said George W. Bush was trying to kill her," hostage Terry Homer said. "I honestly don't think she was in the right state of mind." "She said she wanted to talk to George W. Bush and things like that and if everybody doesn't shut up, I'm going to kill everyone," Hostage... Local6.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2023947/posts#comment Sat, 31 May 2008 12:45:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2009235/posts I received one of those scam emails today, this one was different. It claimed to be from Bank of America concerning to many login attempts on my online account and that I was to go to their link and update my security info, the big problem is I don't have a Bank of America account and this email is remarkably similar to ones I have received about e-bay accounts etc. This is a scam intended to rip people off after obtaining secure info from the customer dumb enough to actually go to the link. I need to report this and... Vanity http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2009235/posts#comment Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:11:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007985/posts Obama's subprime pal PENNY PRITZKER Finance chief's bank failed in 2001, costing 1,400 customers some of their savings April 28, 2008 BY ABDON M. PALLASCH Political Reporter/apallasch@suntimes.com White House hopeful Barack Obama talks a lot on the campaign trail about how failing banks have used subprime loans to victimize customers. "Part of the reason we got a current mortgage crisis has to do with the fact that people got suckered in to loans that they could not pay," he told a crowd in Reading, Pa., last week. "There were a lot of predatory loans that were given out, a lot... Chicago Sun-Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2007985/posts#comment Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:23:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006590/posts FORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, Iraq, April 24, 2008 – Eight months ago, opening a bank in the Rashid district of southern Baghdad sounded like a good way to stir up trouble. Iraqi ladies become the first customers of the newly reopened Rashid Community Bank on April 20, 2008, in the Doura community of southern Baghdad. The bank is located a block from the renowned Doura Market, a center of commerce for many Iraqi residents. Photo by Army Spc. David Hodge, Multinational Division Baghdad  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Times have changed in the area, however, and local residents... American Forces Press Service http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2006590/posts#comment Thu, 24 Apr 2008 23:21:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004797/posts National City Corp. this morning announced details of its $7 billion bailout and said it lost $171 million, or 27 cents a share, in the first quarter. That was not as bad as the fourth quarter, when the Cleveland bank lost $333 million, but it was worse than last year's first quarter, when it had profits of $319 million. In a written statement, Ohio's largest bank said its board had finished details on a deal reached Sunday. As the Plain Dealer reported Sunday evening, National City is getting $7 billion of much-needed capital from the New York private equity firm... The Cleveland Plain Dealer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004797/posts#comment Mon, 21 Apr 2008 17:15:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004728/posts Bank of America Corp , the second-largest U.S. bank, on Monday said quarterly profit fell 77 percent, hurt by more than $5 billion of write-downs and credit-related costs as more borrowers fell behind on payments. First-quarter net income fell to $1.21 billion, or 23 cents per share, from $5.26 billion, or $1.16, a year earlier. Excluding merger costs, profit was 26 cents per share, below the average analyst forecast of 45 cents, according to Reuters Estimates. Results included a $776 million gain from credit card network Visa Inc's initial public offering last month. Net revenue dropped 6 percent to $17... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004728/posts#comment Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:55:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003137/posts Royal Bank of Scotland in fresh cash plea By Katherine Griffiths and Robert Winnett Last Updated: 11:12pm BST 17/04/2008 Britain's second biggest bank is to make a plea to the City to try to raise billions of pounds to help shore up its finances, which have been hit by the global credit crisis. The Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns NatWest, is to launch a rights issue for at least £5 billion. The move by RBS could lead to pressure on Sir Fred Goodwin to step aside as chief executive It is the first major British bank to concede that... The Telegraph (UK) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003137/posts#comment Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:51:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002772/posts Investors sometimes get excited by bad news just because it isn't as bad as it could have been. Wednesday's profit slide at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. triggered a rally by beleaguered bank stocks. Earnings reports and comments by top executives of the two big U.S. banks included a slew of troubles -- more souring mortgages, write-downs of toxic securities and economic gloom -- but no particularly nasty new surprises for shareholders who have been pummeled by the credit crunch since summer. It was almost as if Wachovia Corp. hadn't rattled Wall Street two days... WSJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2002772/posts#comment Thu, 17 Apr 2008 08:38:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001307/posts Quasi-fiscal scoundrels 4: helping banks When I hear or read the words ‘off-balance-sheet financing’ or ’special purpose vehicle’, warning lights begin to flash and I grab for my obfuscatometer. Off-balance-sheet financing is any form of funding that avoids placing the owners’ equity, liabilities or assets on the balance sheet of a firm or other legal entity. The most common way to achieve this is by placing those items on some other entity’s balance sheet. A standard approach is to create a special purpose vehicle (SPV) and place assets and liabilities on its balance sheet. An SPV is a firm or... FT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2001307/posts#comment Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:55:00 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000699/posts IT was the nation’s lending institutions and mortgage originators that got us into this credit mess, but it is consumers, taxpayers and those companies’ shareholders who will end up shouldering most of the costs. The latest example of this is in the mass freezing of home equity lines of credit going on across the country. Reeling from losses on their wretched loan decisions of recent years, lenders are preventing borrowers with pristine credit and significant equity in their homes from tapping into credit lines that they paid dearly to secure. In the last 30 days, lenders have sent several hundred... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2000699/posts#comment Sat, 12 Apr 2008 23:41:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997472/posts Cambridge University has been given £8 million by a Saudi Arabian prince to establish an Islamic studies centre. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, ranked in the top 20 richest men in the world, with a fortune of about £10 billion, has donated the cash to the university to fund a centre in his name for the study of the role of Islam in the Middle East and globally. The gift has been recommended by the university's general board and is expected to be announced in June. advertisement The grandson of King Ibn Saud and nephew of King Abudllah, the prince counts... London Telegraph http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1997472/posts#comment Sun, 6 Apr 2008 05:22:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992849/posts Treasury Warns Of Deception By Iran Treasury Warns Banks That Iran Is Engaging In Deceptive Practices To Skirt Sanctions WASHINGTON, Mar. 27, 2008 (AP) The Bush administration issued a fresh warning Thursday to U.S. banks that Iran is using "an array of deceptive practices" to hide its alleged involvement in nuclear proliferation and terrorist activities. The Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network alleged that Iran is resorting to such alleged practices to evade detection and skirt financial sanctions. "The government of Iran disguises its involvement in proliferation and terrorism activities through an array of deceptive practices specifically designed to evade... CBS News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1992849/posts#comment Fri, 28 Mar 2008 01:13:17 GMT