Category Archives: Banking industry

Summer Rerun: Why the Happy Talk About the Credit Crisis?

This post first appeared on April 17, 2008 I am frequently mystified at what goes on in the markets. I am even more mystified when people who ought to know better make pronouncements that appear to be profoundly counter-factual. Even if they are talking their own book, the high odds of being revealed as bald-faced […]

Eurobank Worries Back to the Fore

The end of the US summer holiday period is upon us, and with it, a return to reality. The markets are again concerned re Eurobanks, as the fears registered in EU periphery country bond spreads are now registering with investors in other markets. Per Bloomberg: The gaps between 10- year German bond yields and those […]

EU Effectively Forces Securitization Reforms on the US

Wow, the EU is increasingly taking steps to force foreign, meaning US and UK firms, to play by its rules or not have access to its investors. The first salvo occurred over private equity funds and hedge funds, where the EU will limit its investors to funds located in the EU, and is also limiting […]

John Cassidy’s Shot at Bernanke’s Lehman Testimony Goes Wide of the Mark

John Cassidy, and following him, Felix Salmon. took aim at Ben Bernanke’s testimony last week at the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission explaining why the central bank and Treasury stood aside in Lehman’s extremis. The problem is that both get two fundamental, and critical facts wrong, and that error makes the rest of their claims dubious. […]

More Evidence That Shareholder Liability Leads to Less Risky Behavior

An interesting paper at VoxEU provides some empirical support for a commonsensical observation: that the pervasive use of limited liability structures for virtually all financial services activities creates “heads I win, tails you lose” dynamics. If you have no downside and can earn more by taking risk, then why not? While bad incentives like these […]

Bill Black: “Control Fraud” Crushes Kabul, And the New York Times Needs to Correct its Correction

By William C. Black, Associate Professor of Economics and Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City, the author of The Best Way to Rob a Bank is to Own One, who also posts at New Economic Perspectives. The New York Times, in a story entitled “Afghanistan Tries to Help Nation’s Biggest Bank” issued the following correction: Correction: […]

Summer Rerun: Japan Says US Financial Crisis Worse Than Its Bust, Urges Government to Recapitalize Banks

This post first appeared on March 24, 2008 The comments in the Financial Times by Yoshimi Watanabe, Japan’s financial services minister, are extraordinary. He ventured to give the US advice on its credit crunch based on Japan’s experience during its post-bubble-years banking crisis. And it’s not pretty. Why are these remarks so unusual? Consider: Most […]

Summer Rerun: Self-Inflicted Wounds and Mutual Assured Destruction

This post first appeared on March 11, 2008 Oooh, the week has barely started and we’ve already had an overdose of adrenaline-generating news. Thornburg Mortgage and Carlyle Capital, both twisting in the wind, battered by margin calls, look unlikely to escape bankruptcy (Thornburg has already defaulted on financing agreements; Carlyle is seeking a standstill). Freddie […]

Guest Post: Economic consequences of speculative side bets – The case of naked CDS

By Yeon-Koo Che, Professor of Economic Theory at Columbia University, and Rajiv Sethi, Professor of Economics, Barnard College, Columbia University, cross posted from VoxEU The role of naked credit default swaps in the global crisis is an ongoing source of controversy. This column seeks to add some formal analysis to the debate. Its model finds […]

Fannie to Crack Down on Foreclosure Delays

Is a stealth shift in policy afoot, to find the bottom in the housing market by getting banks to start clearing out their foreclosed and “ought to be foreclosed” exposures? On Tuesday, Fannie Mae announced that it was not longer giving servicers free rein, and was clamping down on multiple fronts, such as procedures and […]

Eurobank Stress Tests: A Failed Confidence Ploy

As much as this blog was a persistent critic of the US version of the stress tests, I must hand it to the folks at the Treasury: they did an impressive job of dressing up and selling a garbage barge. The combination of consistent cheerleading, extend and pretend, and a few short squeezes did wonders […]

Whalen Says Forget QE, Get Tough With Banks

Chris Whalen has a particularly tough-minded post at Reuters in which he explains why QE does little for the real economy (similar to the conclusions reached by the Bank of Japan regarding its own QE) and why its benefits for banks fade over time. Key sections: When interest rates are low, savers move their preference […]

Lax Basel III Rules to Spur Further Bank Consolidation, Meaning More TBTF?

The “lax” is clearly a tad inflammatory, but tweaks in Basel III rules to allow dubious quality items like mortgage servicing rights as Tier I capital speak volumes. In addition, the various noises from policy makers makes clear that they aren’t willing to make banks raise capital level by much due to fears of the […]

Dick Fuld is Still Trying to Blame Everyone Else For Lehman’s Failure

The English language needs a new word to describe the nature and degree of disconnectedness from reality represented by Dick Fuld. He occupies a weird funhouse realm in which he did no wrong, those mean people in DC and the evil shorts brought down a viable enterprise. Remember, this is the man who certified financial […]