greedcanbgood

First Mariner: Microcosm of an Industry's Woes

Well....I think you need to first look at why FMAR is in this prediciment. If they were like some community banks and were heavily involved in speculative real estate developments then the story is different versus an organization that is seeing massive write-offs in consumer credit.

Giant Banks Are Trying to Make Bailouts Permanent

FormerBanker – You are quite correct. The article is little more than conjecture and hearsay with a smattering of “man-on-the-grassy-knoll” conspiracy.

As noted, most of the TBTF institutions have already repaid TARP not to mention a few TBTFs (i.e. USB and BB&T) that never found themselves in the trouble that others did and apparently have been run prudently.

If one accepts the notion of TBTF anyway, then one must be intellectually honest and be willing to apply it to ANY organization in ANY industry.

SteveTheHawk, while I don’t necessarily disagree with you about banks sticking “only to banking”, be prepared to pay higher rates on credit and receive lower rates on deposits if this were the case.

The Too Big to Fail, Too Big to Exist Act of 2009

The govermnet has NEVER been able to make good business decisions. No such thing as "too big to fail". Let them exist and fail, thrive and falter at their own peril. Indeed, the government has itself become WAY too big. I'll endorse this bill when the government can pare down it's own size.

Is Too Big to Fail Now Too Big to Exist?

Once again, I challenge the “break them up” proponents to explain just how this should be done. What metric will you use? Will you (or the administration) ever be able to reach a consensus? Are you willing then to apply those same metrics to other organizations (i.e. Microsoft and Walmart) in case they are “too big” also? The dangerous precedent is permitting the government to make decisions with regard to the business model of a private organization.

I agree with an earlier poster, size is not the problem, excessive risk taking is. Measures to limit the amount or risk a bank takes on might be an appropriate solution but the bottom line is that the government is unwilling to go that route because it will return banks to the very conservative nature they had in decades past. Home buyers will HAVE to again come up with a 20% down-stroke. To qualify for a mortgage you will again have to meet the old standby 28/35 rule and people will again have to work hard to achieve home ownership. Not to mention what it will do to business and commercial lending…

'Too Big to Fail' Is Too Hot to Handle

epeon - Lest you forget that some institutions were forced to accept TARP funds....

With U.S. Economy Still on the Ropes, Where Are the Banks?

What a complete bunch of hogwash. Let’s see, first of all not ALL banks required assistance and yet it was forced down their throats and then followed up with a bunch of ex post facto rules. Second, do more homework. Consumer and business appetite for credit is at an all time low. Third, financial institutions have taken a serious beating for assuming too much risk (including lending risk) and yet now, here you (and congress) decry their unwillingness to lend. It's like the master who beats his dog when he feeds it and then wonders why the dog is reluctant to eat. Fourth, pending legislation may place de facto price controls on some consumer credit and fee income streams for banks without regard to the ramifications to the financial services industry. Clearly, they are trying to be prudent with cash in preparation for the coming storm.

Big Banks: The Consensus Is Cracking

All you "break up" propoenets out there have yet to come up with a reasonable strategy for calculating how you would do so (by business line, by assets, by geography [which, by the way already occurrs], by deposit base). Everyone has opinions but no solutions.

Diana Farrell And The White House Theory Of Bank Size

I doubt anyone at any of the big banks particularly enjoys the oversight they already have. Painting the picture that the governemnt and the banks are in cahoots is WAY off base.

All you "too big" people out there, I wonder why you aren't writing to your congressional representatives to break up Microsoft also. You can't have it one way for one industry and anohter way for a different industry.

Let a free market reign and eventually, the poorly run will fail.

The Return of the Financial Dividends

David, I agree with you but USB and BB&T specifically appear to have retained a measure of financial strength that most other large financials have not. True, a rising tide raises all ships and indeed the converse is also true but I'm not so sure I'd view all financials as skeptically.

Easy for Top Banks to Make Money with Low CD Rates

Kirk - your data is good, but here is the quote, "Any idiot off the street should be able to make money running a bank that pays rates this low then lends money out for mortgages at over 5%."

You cite only mortgage rates and CD rates and your headline itself reads, "Easy for Top Banks to Make Money with Low CD Rates." What else is the reader supposed to infer about your comprehension as it applies to how banks fund assets and balance rate/volume on liabilities?

Easy for Top Banks to Make Money with Low CD Rates

Too bad you don't understand how assets and liabilities are funded by banks. It's not as simple as CD rates versus 30-year motgage.

Bank Lending Stays on the Sidelines

Finally, a quality discussion that includes the premise that perhaps we should not try to "borrow" our way out of this...

The Systemic Threat Posed by Megabanks

LOL! "It’s urgent that the government (probably through the FDIC) start imposing a surcharge on bank size." Sounds similar to a progressive income tax structure...

"Too big to make so much"

Major Banks Now Much Too Big to Fail

I have only one question for those of you who insist that the larger organizations should be broken up: What should the "correct" size of a financial institution be?

As a secondary question: What is this likelihood that you can fine enough people to agree with any measure?

Dead Banks Walking

KIT makes a good point here. One can argue whether or not it was the correct thing to do but it wasn't just a "rescue" of the rich.

Credit card losses/defaults continue to rise but some lenders are beginning to see stabilization on residential real estate. Look for unemployment to tick up a but more and stay there for a while, ultimately pushing other credit losses higher. Commerical will also get worse but not like the housing bubble.

I think we've pretty much bottomed out - most of the above tend to be lagging.