Archive for November, 2009
Loan Portfolios Weighing Down Bank Performance
Although the recession has technically ended and the financial markets have stabilized, that does not necessarily mean the banks are out of the woods just yet. The banking industry is now facing the next wave in the storm, souring and past-due loans, which the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said have reached the highest levels in [...]
Citibank (NYSE: C) Ends 28-Year Relationship with Diners Club, Sells to Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO)
Citibank (NYSE: C) is ending its 28-year-old ties to the world’s first credit card, Diners Club, by selling the unit to the Bank of Montreal (NYSE: BMO). The sale of Diners Club to Bank of Montreal for an unspecified price will reduce Citigroup’s total amount of assets by about $1 billion. The sale represents about [...]
Is a Tobin Tax in Store for Large Banks Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C) and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)?
The phrase “too big to fail” may get retired in 2010, but for banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS), Citigroup Inc. (C) and Bank of America (BAC), they may face a new round of punitive legislation to deal with the political fallout. According to a special report in Money Morning, heavy government intervention in the [...]
Deposit Insurance Fund in Red by $8.2 Billion
As of the end of the third quarter, the Deposit Insurance Fund, the fund that backs up the guarantee that deposits in bank are secure up to $250,000, has dropped into the red to the tune of $8.2 billion. This is no surprise, as the numbers have been suggesting this for months, but the FDIC [...]
UBS (NYSE: UBS) Ratings Cut, Strength Questioned
On Thursday, Moody’s Investors Service cut various ratings on UBS (NYSE: UBS), citing significant challenges the company continues to face, in both the Investment Banking and Wealth Management businesses. This cut comes at a difficult time for an already struggling bank, which can scarcely afford an increased cost of funds. The bank’s financial strength rating [...]
JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon: Next Treasury Secretary?
Timothy Geithner’s reign as the Treasury Secretary has been rocky to say the least. Now, speculation is starting to emerge in regards to who his potential successors may be. Calls for his dismissal have been growing louder in recent weeks, as the nation struggles to rebound from the financial crisis, and many are questioning Geithner’s [...]
SunTrust, Inc. (NYSE: STI), Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), and Regions Financial (NYSE: RF) tout loyalty programs to increase revenue
Earning miles with Delta Air Miles with a travel debit card from SunTrust (STI). Wells Fargo (WFC) will let you apply reward points towards a home equity loan. And Regions Financial’s allows you to earn 4% cash back on downloads from iTunes. These are just a few examples of loyalty programs being used by banks [...]
Standard & Poor’s Risk Capital Study Finds Citigroup (NYSE: C) And UBS (NYSE: UBS) Lacking
Standard & Poor’s releases a report on Monday that detailed a capital ratio study of the world’s largest banks. The report showed a wide variance in the risk adjusted capital ratio (RAC) and regulatory ratios, such as Tier 1 capital. According to the report, banks on average had a 6.7 percent RAC ratio, which is [...]
How to Get a Peer-to-Peer Personal Loan Online
If you are looking to get any sort of personal loan through the internet, you will be inundated with offers from hundreds of different banks, credit unions and finance companies. Most of the offers you’ll find have terms that are worse than typical credit cards. If you’re looking to borrow money for a wedding, a [...]
Will Ben Bernanke Remain Chairman of the Federal Reserve?
Not too long ago Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke was considered to be assured of being nominated for another term as Chairman of institution, but after a dismal performance at the helm of the agency, it’s not necessarily a foregone conclusion he’ll continue on with his duties. While it’s best to eventually eliminate the Federal [...]
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) Transfers Subsidiary ‘Crescent Real Estate Equities’ to Barclays Capital (LSE: BARC.L)
The timing of buying Crescent Real Estate Equities by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) was among the worst in history, and not long after paying out $6.5 billion to acquire the company, Morgan Stanley has struggled to pay for it since that time in August 2007. In response, Morgan Stanley has sold the division to Barclays Capital [...]
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) Drops Arbitration Clause From Card Contracts in Antitrust Lawsuit
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), the largest credit card lender in America has agreed to drop the use of an arbitration clause in order to move forward in settling an antitrust lawsuit which included a number of other large financial institutions. The dispute centers around those wanting credit cards with these companies having to sign [...]
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Says Taxpayers Will Bail Out Bad Loans, So Doesn’t Have to Reserve Against Losses
Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), in an extraordinary and arrogant practice, has decided they don’t have to reserve against any potential losses for off balance sheet (OBS) exposures because the taxpayers will bail them out if the loans go bad. Of course it’s not presented in that light, but that is the bottom line. Here’s how Chris [...]
Lending Club Complaints: What Lending Club Could Do Better
As of the end of 2009, Lending Club is now originating over $6 million in new loans per month, almost three times what its primary competitor, Prosper.com, is putting out. Although it’s currently getting a lot of attention while Prosper.com is languishing with low amounts of capital, there are still some things that Lending Club [...]
Lending Club Stats: What Types of Loans Perform Best
With Lending Club’s revamped statistics pages, investors have gained a much better idea of what types of loans perform better than others. Previously, investors had some hints about what typed of loans performed better from the company’s webcasts, but now Lending Club publishes the average rate of return for loans based on the purpose that [...]
worst video player ever- after over2:00 there's still no video appearing 