During 2012, investor fears about the financial condition of banks resulted in the biggest decline in bank stocks since the financial crash of 2008. A weakening economy and fears about massive exposure to insolvent European financial institutions sent bank investors running to the exits. The brutal sell off in banking stocks during 2012 can be […]
SCB Bank of Indiana Fails Under Weight Of Bad Loans
February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
SCB Bank, Shelbyville, Indiana, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,which appointed the FDIC as receiver. Acting as receiver, the FDIC sold the failed bank to First Merchants Bank, National Association, Muncie, Indiana. SCB Bank had been struggling under the weight of nonperforming loans since 2009. The Bank had a […]
Charter National Bank and Trust of Illinois Closed By Regulators
February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Charter National Bank and Trust, Hoffman Estates, Illinois, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, becoming the eight banking failure of 2012. Charter National, a small 32 year old community bank, became overwhelmed by bad loans after real estate prices began to collapse in 2008. The latest reports on Charter […]
Foreclosure Settlement Q&A – Who Wins, Who Loses – A Victory For The Irresponsible
February 10, 2012 By 4 Comments
A $25 billion foreclosure settlement reached between the government and the big banks has many wondering who will win and who will lose among the different parties involved. Although the settlement is complicated and will take years to work out, the basic framework will please some and annoy others. Here are some basic questions and […]
TARP Lives On – 370 Problem Banks Remain On U.S. Treasury Life Support
February 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) that was authorized in 2008 to bailout failing financial institutions is still in the process of being wound down. The latest report from the Government Accounting Office (GAO) (which is required by law to report on TARP every 60 days) reveals that the U.S. Treasury is still […]
Congress Moves To Prevent FHA Collapse With “FHA Emergency Solvency Act”
February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The latest FHA Single-Family Outlook report from the FHA shows that serious delinquencies continue to plague the FHA. The number of seriously delinquent FHA loans increased by 18.9% from last year to a record number of 711,082 mortgage loans. FHA loans classified as seriously delinquent amount to 9.6% of all FHA insured mortgages. A seriously […]
Interest Rates At All Time Lows And Home Prices At Ten Year Lows – Why Are Home Sales The Worst Ever?
February 1, 2012 By 1 Comment
In Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s world, all he had to do was lower interest rates enough and housing prices would magically re-inflate. Wrong! Mortgage rates are at all time lows, home prices are at 2002 levels and owning a home is just as cheap as renting, yet the housing market remains mired in a […]
Foreclosure Inventory Near Record Highs, Attempts To Slow Foreclosures Is Prolonging The Housing Crisis
January 28, 2012 By 1 Comment
LPS Mortgage Monitor has come out with a comprehensive series of charts including the current level of foreclosures, delinquencies by year of origination, length of time homeowners have not made a payment in judicial states, states with largest drops in non-current mortgages and foreclosure rates in judicial vs non judicial states. The states with the […]
Four Banks Fail – FDIC Losses Approach $1 Billion On YTD Bank Closings
January 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Regulators closed four banks in Tennessee, Minnesota and Florida, bringing the total for the year to seven. Tennessee, with two bank closings, had previously not had a single bank failure since 2002. The combined assets of the two failed banks in Tennessee totaled $1.5 billion. Tennessee Commerce Bank of Franklin, TN, became the first billion […]
BankEast, Knoxville, TN, Closed By Regulators
January 27, 2012 By 1 Comment
Until today, the State of Tennessee, had seemed isolated from the banking crisis. For almost a decade, there were no banking failures in Tennessee, with the last one occurring on November 8, 2002. Tennessee’s luck came to an abrupt halt today with the closing of two banks – Tennessee Commerce Bank of Franklin, TN and […]