TinyTim

Bank Switching Costs: Why Bother?

Thanks for the comments.
I doubt whether most people are not switching because of the brand stability TBTF and certainly not loyalty.

I think you hit it right. It would be a royal pain for me to switch out my BofA services (like yours- bill pays, several checking & savings accts, safe deposit box, credit cards, local branches, etc)

What I do instead is keep everything down to a minimum balance for the account bundle to avoid monthly fees. I take whatever excess cash I have and sweep it into a savings bank. In my case, Apple Bank in NY which offers a few percent on savings. I can transfer the funds from Apple to BofA easily. I did switch the credit cards easily to Cap One since there was no balance.

More Goldman Outrage

John-
Didn't you have a post a while back that stated GS was making a tender offer for the US Treasury?

This is the stuff that Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson were warning about 200 years ago. Now we have it in spades. Regulatory capture. Expect to see David Viniar on the $20 bill any day now.

This is especially upsetting after reading your article on the ING breakup.

Diana Farrell And The White House Theory Of Bank Size

Anyone without a keen appreciation of the acute hazards imposed by large loosely regulated national banks needs to reread their early American history, specifically the warnings and arguments of great men like Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson.
They recognized the bankers for what they were, and that was before almost 250 years of financial engineering.

etext.virginia.edu/jef...

"I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies . . . If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] . . . will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered . . . The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs." -- Thomas Jefferson -- The Debate Over The Recharter Of The Bank Bill, (1809)"

"The bold effort the present bank had made to control the government
... are but premonitions of the fate that await the American people
should they be deluded into a perpetuation of this institution or the
establishment of another like it." Andrew Jackson To Congress in 1836, Jackson closed the second Federal Bank (est. 1816) with these comments

Diana Farrell And The White House Theory Of Bank Size

This is the most obvious symptom of regulatory capture. Unwillingness to do anything detrimental to the vested interest. These TBTF megabanks must be broken up. Reinstate Glass-Steigal to split by sector. Then use anti-trust to break down further.

The best example in recent history is Ma Bell in 1982. Broken up successfully under antitrust. It's the nature of capitalism that they're recombining almost 30 years later.

Our Banks Are Nowhere Near Up to the Task of Serving Big Global Companies

Thanks for blowing up the only argument I've not heard answered against breaking up the TBTF megabanks.
So what are we waiting for?

Too Big to Fail - Everyone but Washington Knows What Needs to be Done

"regulatory reform to date has been a bust"

what reform?

Bank of America's Gain Is Taxpayers' Loss

Nothing surprises me anymore with Wall St and the captive USG. I'm waiting for GS to make an offer for the Treasury.

If Congress could pass out up to $700B in TARP funds without even a stipulation that the money had to be loaned out, I will believe any ineptness regarding paperwork and contract terms.

With perfect hindsight, when things calm down, it's easy to ask for a change in the terms asked for when all hell was breaking loose.
If you try this in Vegas at the blackjack table, you get a broken arm.

What’s My Payment?

"Boomers realize they are 60 years old and have $50,000 of retirement savings and $30,000 of credit card debt. "

And there's a line of applicants to be greeters at the local Walmart.

Hopefully, you are describing a new generation similar to the thrifty that came out of the Depression. Only they don't know it yet, just like the high-rollers during the Roaring 20's. This mentality rarely carries to the next generation

The Coming Consequences of Banking Fraud

"the US government, US Federal Reserve, Wall Street, the US Treasury, and the Exchange Stabilization Fund have all engaged in domestic and international financial and monetary transactions that have been kept secret from the world, and that will have severe and negative consequences in the not so distant future." that has been aided and abetted by financial journalists."

"The inevitable conclusion of this rally isn’t just about the unsustainability of the massive bailout programs implemented by global Central Banks that have engineered this current market rally out of thin air,"

Actually I think this rally is exclusively about the massive bailout programs and the transactions necessary to keep the balls in the air. Why else is everyone in govt so worried about a Fed audit?
Also, to quote a famous politician " It's not fraud if I do it"

Big Banks Commit to Transparency

Their version of transparency can't amount to much otherwise the CEOs of all our top financial institutions would be mounting massive PR campaigns against the proposals.

The TBTF megabanksters have accomplished regulatory capture and there is no one around to take the necessary antitrust actions.

One Year Since the Banking System Collapsed. Has Anything Really Changed?

Hey, don't blame me, I voted for Ron Paul.

Everybody knows Democrats and Republicans are best buddies over steaks and drinks when they're not on TV. Discussing how to split up the pot of gold.

The only change I hear is the volume of the political rhetoric has gone a few decibels higher and more shrill from those that don't know any better.

After watching term limits working at my state level, it's a real shame the Fedsters couldn't see fit to do it to themselves.

Banks: Now Too 'Bigger' to Fail

This is a travesty and a major credibility problem for the current administration who appear to be in the pockets of the TBTF megabanks.

Regulating away systemic risk of this sort is too complex for the government. The best they can do is pull antitrust and make them all small, transparent, simple and collateralized.

The megabanks are sure to plead that downsizing would make them uncompetitive in the global markets.

Considering the recurrent questions regarding their value added other than "efficiently" allocating capital, it may be time to "take advantage of the crisis" and bust them up. The problems are they own everybody that's supposed to do it and they would spread more fear mongering about economic collapse and riots in the streets.

The Liquidity Canard

Liquidity issues with HFT are only part of the problem.
They make volume stats, a key component in many trading platforms, completely worthless.

Has President Obama's Mortgage Modification Plan Failed?

Renegotiating the loan of someone just laid off is basically the same as giving the original NINJA loans that started the problem.
The redefault risk is like 100%.

Face it. There is only a very small percentage of renegotiations that will fly once you leave off the people who can still pay, but want lower payments. For these folks, it's a game of chicken since nobody will talk to them until they're 3 months delinquent.

Lastly, let's not forget the banks that don't want to settle because that would force the bad loan onto the books.

Who Watches over the New York Fed?

The Fed definitely needs a whole lot more transparency and if they don't feel like they're a part of government, get rid of 'em.
I like Ron Paul's (my man) proposal to audit them, just for the drama and entertainment value, then get rid of 'em.

Lastly, there are several other Fed districts around the country with supposedly equal weight to the NY Fed. Why does this not feel right?