Continue reading New FDIC Rule Would Have Asset-Backed Securities Issuers Retain 5% of Risk

New FDIC Rule Would Have Asset-Backed Securities Issuers Retain 5% of Risk originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 May 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading The Wild, Wild West Days of Finance Are Over

The Wild, Wild West Days of Finance Are Over originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 Apr 2010 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Eight more banks failed last week, bringing the 2010 total to 50. Three of the failures were in Florida, and two were in California. Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington had one bank failure each.

In Florida, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took over Riverside National Bank, First Federal Bank of North Florida and AmericanFirst Bank. TD Bank Financial Group a division of Canadian company TD Bank (TD) took the deposits and nearly all the assets of each. Riverside National had $3.4 billion in assets, with First Federal at $393.3 million and AmericanFirst at $90.5 million.

Continue reading Bank Failure Tally for 2010 Hits 50

Bank Failure Tally for 2010 Hits 50 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bank Failures Hit 42, Expected to Exceed 2009's 140

Bank Failures Hit 42, Expected to Exceed 2009's 140 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Apr 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The bank failure rate slowed a bit last week, but the tally remains alarming. Two banks in Georgia and one in Florida hit the skids, bringing the 2010 total to 40.

The victims this time around were McIntosh Commercial Bank in Carrollton, Georgia, Unity National Bank in Cartersville, Georgia, and West Bank of Key West, Florida. Together the three bank failures are expected to cost the FDIC insurance fund approximately $213.6 million.

Continue reading Three More Banks Fail

Three More Banks Fail originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Bank Death Toll Approaches 40

Bank Death Toll Approaches 40 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

During the 2003 -- 06 boom years, three agencies, The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency gave out millions of dollars in bonuses to regulators of these agencies.

The bonuses were supposedly given out for "superior" performance. Records show that at least $19 million in bonuses was awarded.

Continue reading Government Gave Bank Regulators Millions in Bonuses During Financial Meltdown

Government Gave Bank Regulators Millions in Bonuses During Financial Meltdown originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Three more banks failed last week, bringing 2010's total to 25. Already, this year's bank failures have matched the 2008 full-year total and exceeded the 2007 amount by a factor of greater than eight. The three regional banks that failed last week were in Florida, Illinois and Maryland, with close to a billion dollars in aggregate assets. According to the FDIC, the pace of bank failures could be set to accelerate in the next few months.

Sun American Bank, in Boca Raton, was taken over by the FDIC, with First-Citizens Bank & Trust, based in Raleigh, N.C., assuming the Florida banks assets and almost all of its deposits. Sun American had assets of $535.7 million and $443.5 million in deposits. Since July, First-Citizens has acquired the assets of four failed banks, the others being First Regional Bank of Los Angeles, Venture Ban (Lacey, Wash.) and Temecula Valley Bank (Temecula, Calif.).

Continue reading Bank Failure Tally Hits 25

Bank Failure Tally Hits 25 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Lending Drops to Multi-Year Lows

Lending Drops to Multi-Year Lows originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Imagine that you go to withdraw funds from your checking account, only to find that you must give your bank seven days prior notice of the action. Does that sound outlandish? This regulatory fine print has been made all too real for customers of Citibank (C).

In an informational snafu that got out of hand, Citibank notified its customers that it has the right, or the responsibility, to delay customers from retrieving their own money in certain rare instances. The misstep occurred when Citibank included this revelation on the statements of its customers nationwide.

Continue reading Citibank Trips over Regulations

Citibank Trips over Regulations originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 22 Feb 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not even two months into 2010, the number of banks closed this year has already reached 20, not far behind the full-year result of 25 in 2008 and ahead of the three in 2007. On Friday, four banks were shut down by regulators, carrying forward the momentum from 2009's 140 bank failures. In only one week, the number of bank failures this year spiked 25%.

La Jolla Bank FSB in California was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. It had 10 branches, $3.6 billion in assets and $2.8 billion in deposits. Its deposits and assets were taken over by OneWest Bank in Pasadena in a deal that is expected to cost the insurance fund $882.3 million. OneWest and the FDIC will share the losses on failed bank loans and other assets of approximately $3.3 billion.

Continue reading Bank Failures Surge 25% in One Week

Bank Failures Surge 25% in One Week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The FDIC said this week that it expects distressed loans tied to mortgages and commercial real estate failures to result in many more bank failures this year. Last year 140 U.S. banks failed, the highest annual level since 1992. The FDIC has said the total bill for bank failures for the period of 2009 through 2013 could reach $100 billion.

Five more banks were seized by regulators on Friday, bringing this year's total to nine. The five failed banks are:

Continue reading Ongoing Bank Failures Tied to Commercial Real Estate

Ongoing Bank Failures Tied to Commercial Real Estate originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 24 Jan 2010 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

After seeing the number of bank failures tick up to 140 last year, there's some slight comfort in seeing the annual total only reach four. The feeling of relief disappears, of course, when you realize that we're only two weeks into 2010. The effects of the late 2008 financial crisis are still with us, as three small banks learned this week -- in Illinois, Minnesota and Utah. As expected, the 2009 trend continues. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's takeover of the banks follows the closure of the much larger Horizon Bank in Bellingham, Wash., the week before.

Continue reading Bank Failures Begin Again

Bank Failures Begin Again originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 16 Jan 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The bank bust tally is up to 131. Republic Federal Bank was the most recent to be shut down by regulators, which happened on Friday, making it the 13th in Florida to fall.

Boca Raton-based 1st United Bank (FUBC) has agreed to pick up its $352.7 million in deposits and $267.1 million of its $433 million in assets. The FDIC and 1st United are sharing $210.4 million in loans and other assets -- the stuff left over will be held by the FDIC until it is sold. According to the FDIC, this failure will cost the deposit insurance fund $122.6 million.

Continue reading Florida bank brings failure count to 131

Florida bank brings failure count to 131 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 13 Dec 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"The party is over. Never again." These are the words of Speaker Nancy Pelosi regarding the bill to regulate financial markets that passed the House of Representatives on 223 to 203 vote.

In broad terms, these are the provisions of the House bill:

• Large financial companies would be hit with billions of dollars in fees and would see new restrictions on their operations.
• The Federal Reserve's powers to write consumer-protection laws would be stripped.

Continue reading 'The party is over': House passes bill regulating Wall Street

'The party is over': House passes bill regulating Wall Street originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 12 Dec 2009 09:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

U.S. banking regulators took over six more banks on Friday, bringing the 2009 bank failure tally to 130. So, even with the post-financial crisis situation stabilizing a year later, the continued stream of bank failures serves as a stark reminder that we aren't out of the woods yet. Smaller banks are expected to continue to fail at an higher rate through next year, due in large part to the pressures of deteriorating loans.

Of course, unemployment will continue to be a problem, as it impairs the abilities of borrowers to repay their debts. The squeeze appears to be lightening, as job cuts slowed considerably in November, but the unemployment rate is nonetheless expected to peak next year.

Continue reading Six more banks closed, total hits 130 this year

Six more banks closed, total hits 130 this year originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 06 Dec 2009 10:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Closing Bell: The recession is still over, still... do you feel it? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Seven more banks failed late Friday, including institutions in Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Georgia, and three in Florida. The FDIC posted the liabilities it would assume and which banks would take on customers from the shutter institutions in detail on its website.

According to MarketWatch, "CreditSights, which tracks the dismal data, predicts that in the current cycle, from 2008 through 2011, as many as 1,100 banks will fail. That would wipe out 13.4% of all U.S. banks, representing 7% of U.S. banking assets."

Continue reading Bank failures hit 106 for 2009

Bank failures hit 106 for 2009 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 24 Oct 2009 11:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Autumn has arrived and the quarter winds down this week. The Dow has been inching toward 10,000 for a while now, though it closed lower in the past three sessions. Can it make it to 10,000 for the start of the third quarter? If so, what will push it higher? If not, what will drag it down further?

• Monday is Yom Kippur, the most solemn of the Jewish holidays; trading likely will be lighter than usual. In the evening, the FDIC meets to discuss how to rebuild the Bank Deposit Insurance Fund.
• Tuesday, the Consumer Confidence Index for September is due and the SEC holds a public meeting to consider more short sale actions.

Continue reading The week in preview: Is the rally over?

The week in preview: Is the rally over? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Sep 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading BB&T (BBT) earnings won't be hurt by Colonial takeover

BB&T (BBT) earnings won't be hurt by Colonial takeover originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 18 Aug 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.