greedcanbgood

5 U.S. Banks with High Levels of Service Charge Income

Here is the REAL issue, "If the Obama administration’s proposal to set up a consumer financial protection agency becomes successful, then high service fees, overdraft fees, etc. imposed by banks on customers may be targeted."

In one fell swoop, the Obama administration can effectively cut a large percentage of the revenue for retail banks - a potentially crippling blow. The argument isn't whether or not overdraft fees are too much or bank fees in general too prolific but rather whether or not the government should limit the revenue opportunities for a privately held organization.

This is VERY dangerous legislation and has a number of potential, highly negative consequences. If this passes and you have retail banks in your portfolio, you'd better keep a VERY close eye on your portfolio!

U.S. Bancorp: 'Best Bank in U.S.'?

Amen Reverend! True enough, they've slipped past many of the pitfalls in the markets these past 2 years. I think they deserve some kudos. Very little sub-prime, not too leveraged on CDS (though we don't know for sure) and pretty steady performance.

Impact of Obama Plan on Prospect of Big-Bank Breakups

Jasper - look at the spreads on debt issuances by these institutions. This is a good indicator of how the market preceives risk. PNC, BB&T and USB (USB especially) consistently fund debt at a MUCH lower rate than peers. My issue with the chart is that it's sorted by how many "notches" a company's rating was lowered - but one needs to also consider from where it was lowered.

Impact of Obama Plan on Prospect of Big-Bank Breakups

Bad table, not so useful....or at least sorted VERY poorly. Banks like USB, BB&T and PNC STILL are mainting VERY high ratings and generally fund much cheaper thier their respective pier groups. This indicates significantly less risk in these institutions when compared to the rest of the industry. A rising tide raises all ships but the chart/article fail to make note of the converse.

DIY Stress Test 2: Final Spreadsheet

Moon - You're kidding, right?

So the banks lend money, get chewed out in front of the likes of Barney Frank for making the wrong loans to the wrong people. Then the government gives them more money to lend, which they do. This time however, they tighten up underwriting and become more prudent and YOU think they should be "shamed"? What a crock. I have news for you, we can't lend our way out of this.

One thing I do agree with you however is the derrivatives positions - that's the REAL 800lb. gorilla.

Stress Test Not Stressful Enough?

Excellent piece of writing!

Look, the situation today is both complex and simple at the same time. Want to know if things are turning around or not, keep an eye on employement and then keep an eye on credit losses (which typically lag by several months). When unemployment is stable to down and financial institution charge-offs are also stable to down, you will know that we've hit the bottom.

Another Friday, Another Bank Failure: Casualty #33 and More on Stress Tests

Ugh! What’s up with this?

The stress test were hooey but not because of closed-door meetings or shady political alliances. The tests were watered down because of the ignorant, panic-prone nature of people in general. I guarantee you that if the government were to have come out with not a pass/fail but rather a ranking; you would see consumers run on the bottom 1 – 5 banks the likes of which haven’t been seen since the REAL depression. Tommy Lee Jones got it correct in Men in Black when he said, “A person is smart but people are stupid.” The government painted themselves into a corner and this was the only way to get out without spilling any more paint then necessary.

So why did Westsound fail? Was it heavy into derivatives or speculative instruments or did they just make poor business decisions? Either way, the system worked EXACTLY as it should. The government spotted the failure, acted and another institution took them over. Why waste time being indignant?

The market will fix itself on its own as will the financial services industry. Then, there will be another bubble that will burst and you can be indignant about that.

Uneasy Silence About Regional Banks

"Many of these banks, especially Regions, do not have a large cushion of preferred capital to convert to common."

Your analysis is incomplete unless you provide details. Otherwise, the reader is led to believe that all your regional listed are in the same boat and clearly, they are not.