Lockstep Investing

Rating the Top 12 U.S. Banks - From Hidden Gems to Zombies

Martin, on Wells Fargo you miss the California exposure and the Wachovia (Golden West) exposure. That alone pushes that bank into walking wounded status.

On JPM you fail to mention that they are the biggest CDS broker in the market. Counterparty risk anyone? They are a zombie in their own right. They know if a crisis happens the only thing that can save them is government intervention. That is why the Fed gave them Bear Sterns to begin with, it is better to have all the counterparty risk in one spot so it is identifiable and manageable, rather than spread across market players.

Overall, good summary.

Cramer's Lightning Round - Who Needs Citi? (10/28/08)

Haters, all of you.

Cramer has been dogging Citi for two years now.

Bank of America has a huge derivative book, but it is focused on industrial credit default swaps, not residential mortgage backed securities like Bear Sterns, UBS, Lehman and the rest.

Citi put the seven SIVs on the balance sheet and has been too bloated do any transaction since. It is a ward of the Federal Reserve and is just a silent version of AIG waiting for unwind.