Comments on Kevin Berk's articles RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com http://seekingalpha.com/author/kevin-berk/articles http://seekingalpha.com/article/169744/comments?source=feed#comment-735110 735110 Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:10:37 -0400 http://seekingalpha.com/article/136884/comments?source=feed#comment-718864 718864 Sat, 17 Oct 2009 18:52:40 -0400
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/136884/comments?source=feed#comment-585335 585335 Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:22:25 -0400
In the mid 1990's some of these societies decided to pursue growth by listing on a stock exchange. The biggest privatisation was by the Halifax, which became HBOS, before it imploded with poor risk controls last year and was assimilated by LloydsTSB in a government arranged deal. The HBOS debts were worse than aniticipated and Lloyds Group as it became would have collapsed if it were not for a tax-payers bail-out.

In summary if you have a lending and deposit club for the benefit of society it works very well. If you have a lending and deposit institution for shareholder benefit it chases yield, market share at the expense of risk controls and is more vulnerable the bigger it's debt to deposits ratio gets.

The formation of banks, from building societies was one of the primary reasons of inappropriate debt growth in the UK and the subsequent banking collapse.
]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/136884/comments?source=feed#comment-585306 585306 A few days *prior* to the date of this article, Prosper shut down > again.]]> Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:03:13 -0400

On May 12 12:02 PM Chantillian wrote:

> A few days *prior* to the date of this article, Prosper shut down
> again.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/136884/comments?source=feed#comment-549525 549525 Tue, 16 Jun 2009 22:07:03 -0400
For those interested in the philanthropic side of peer-to-peer lending, check out Kiva, which makes microloans to entreprenuers and groups around the world. Many like that they can take a direct involvement in where their funds are going, and also that they are helping people help themselves.

Some in Africa have called for a reform for how foreign aid is being sent (Bill Gates is someone who has also championed the accountability aspect of aid and lending), as one of the major causes of strongman corruption on the African continent is foreign money being given to shady regimes, with no accountability. Instead of helping the locals, these regimes will just take the money Saddam style and buy weapons and palaces with it.]]> http://seekingalpha.com/article/136884/comments?source=feed#comment-500546 500546 Tue, 12 May 2009 12:02:47 -0400