Why Bank Stocks Are Impossible To Analyze or Value

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

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

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

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

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 […]

Foreclosure Inventory Near Record Highs, Attempts To Slow Foreclosures Is Prolonging The Housing Crisis

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

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

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 […]

Patriot Bank Minnesota Closed By Regulators

Minnesota, which had only two banking failures during 2011, got off to a fast start for 2012 with the closing of a small locally owned community bank. Patriot Bank Minnesota, Forest Lake, Minnesota, was closed by state regulators who appointed the FDIC as receiver.  The failed bank was sold by the FDIC to First Resource […]

Tennessee Commerce Bank Fails – First Billion Dollar Bank Failure Of 2012

Tennessee Commerce Bank, Franklin, TN, with $1.2 billion dollars in assets, was closed today by state regulators.  The failure of Tennessee Commerce is the largest banking failure of the new year and comes in a state that is a stranger to bank failures.  Prior to today, the last banking failure in Tennessee was on November […]