Based on the results of the Federal Reserve’s stress tests, the nation’s 18 largest banks would collectively lose a massive $462 billion under an extremely adverse hypothetical economic scenario. Reflecting the severity of the stress scenario–which includes a peak unemployment rate of 12.1 percent, a drop in equity prices of more than 50 percent, a […]
Fed Says Largest Banks Would Lose Half Trillion Dollars Under Adverse Economic Conditions
March 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Bank “Stress Tests” Results Due In March – Don’t Expect Anyone To Fail
January 30, 2013 By 2 Comments
Under the Dodd-Frank Act, the Federal Reserve is required to conduct stress tests which are forward-looking exercises to determine whether large institutions have sufficient capital to absorb large losses and support operations under severely adverse economic conditions. The supervisory stress tests include examining capital ratios, revenue and the size of potential losses. The Federal Reserve […]
Bank Stocks Were 2012’s Best Investment – Now What?
December 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Bank stocks had few friends during 2011 during which time financial stocks plunged by over 18%, even as the S&P 500 eked out a slim total return of 2.1%. As financial stocks dropped last year to levels at which they were selling well below book value in many cases, buyers came back in force. During […]
Citigroup’s CEO Walks Off With A Quarter $Billion – Shareholders Down 89%
October 18, 2012 By Leave a Comment
After being ousted by a proactive board of directors on Tuesday, Citigroup’s former chief executive Vikram Pandit is unlikely to suffer a decline in his standard of living. As CEO of Citigroup, a $1.9 trillion asset global banking giant, Mr. Pandit was paid a relatively modest base salary of $1.67 million during 2011. During 2009 […]
Banks Planning Massive Job Cuts – Old Business Models No Longer Work
July 31, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Although top management at the big banks is doing just fine, things are going to get a lot tougher for the average bank employee. In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Meredith Whitney says the banking industry will slash 50,000 employees from the payrolls due to declining margins and increased regulations. “I think the industry goes […]
Large Banks Simply Can’t Be Trusted – The Cultural Mindset Of Barclays and JP Morgan Management
July 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Continuing scandals in the banking industry are making it difficult to avoid the conclusion that the entire crony capitalism structure of banking has become endemically corrupt. Even as the too big to fail banks vehemently lobby against new regulations under the Dodd-Frank Act, recent scandals at Barclays Plc and JP Morgan make it clear that […]
Ridiculous Divergence Between Bank CEO Pay And Shareholder Returns
June 30, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The wide divergence between bank CEO compensation and shareholder returns is an embarrassment to the capitalist notion of linkage between performance and pay. Shareholders of banking stocks have seen the value of their investments pulverized over the past four years as the banking industry struggles to recover from the lending excesses of previous years. Shareholders […]
Dallas Fed Says “Too Big To Fail Banks” Should Be Broken Up – Future “Severe Crises” Possible
May 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas joined the growing chorus of critics who maintain that the Dodd-Frank Act will not prevent future taxpayer funded bank bailouts. The Dallas Fed said taxpayers are still at risk for the cost of large banks failures and that any future bailouts should result in severe consequences for both bank […]
Bank Stress Tests Viewed As Fed Deception By Critics
March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Every banker knows that public confidence in the banking industry is essential. With the banking industry approaching a near meltdown last year, the Federal Reserve decided to conduct a series of “stress tests” on the country’s largest banks in order to restore confidence in the banking system. After reviewing the results of the stress tests, […]
What Big Bank Stock Has The Largest Price Gain In 2012?
March 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
After getting pounded during 2011, bank stocks have soared this year, especially after the Federal Reserve completed its “stress tests” and said that almost every big bank could survive “extremely adverse” economic conditions. During 2011 bank stock shareholders experienced the biggest price declines since the financial panic of 2008. As worries mounted over both the […]