I am old enough to remember when most people considered banks to be rock solid bastions of financial strength and integrity. That was then, this is now, and a long running, non stop series of banking scandals seems to be dangerously eroding public confidence in the entire financial system. In recent weeks we have seen […]
Glasgow Savings Bank, Oldest Bank In Missouri, Closed By Regulators
July 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Glasgow Savings Bank, Glasgow, Missouri, the oldest bank in the state, was closed down today by the Missouri Division of Finance. The FDIC, appointed as receiver, sold the failed bank to Regional Missouri Bank, Marceline, Missouri. Glasgow Savings Bank opened in April 1852. Despite a 160 year history of operations, the bank remained very small […]
Regulators Maintain Perfect Record Of Incompetence – Massive Fraud At Peregrine Financial Goes Undetected
July 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment
What is the point of having numerous regulatory agencies if they can’t detect blatant fraud despite numerous red flag warnings? Banking regulators turned a blind eye to absurdly reckless lending policies until the entire financial system came close to collapse in 2008. Regulators managed to convince themselves that Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme was […]
Fee Hungry Banks Charge “FDIC Fees” To Depositors
July 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment
It’s not easy being a banker. For example, how do you make up lost revenue from reduced loan demand? In the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008, banks have been struggling to increase revenues as loan growth remains anemic. For the quarter ending March 31, 2012, total loan and lease balances of all FDIC […]
Montgomery Bank & Trust, Georgia, Closed By Regulators
July 6, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Montgomery Bank & Trust, a long time presence in Ailey, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance. Montgomery Bank and Trust, which had been in business since 1926, became insolvent after a large amount of borrowers defaulted on their loans. The FDIC was appointed as receiver and sold the failed […]
Barclays Libor Scandal Expands – Why British Taxpayers Will Pay In The End
July 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Barclays Libor scandal continues to escalate after revelations that senior officials at the Bank of England pressured Barclays to artificially lower the Libor rate. Documents released by Barclays suggest that U.K. treasury officials pressured Barclays to lower the Libor rate. This latest development threatens to turn the Libor rate fixing scandal into a showdown […]
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 […]
FDIC Issues 53 Enforcement Actions In May
June 29, 2012 By 1 Comment
The FDIC announced today a total of 53 enforcement actions for May 2012. In the previous month, the FDIC had issued 56 enforcements actions. Enforcements actions issued in May included 9 consent orders, 10 civil money penalties, 8 section 19 orders, 13 orders terminating previous consent and cease and desist orders, 2 orders terminating prompt […]
Credit Ratings of 15 Global Banks Cut In Largest Downgrades Since 2007
June 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In the most sweeping credit downgrades since 2007, Moody’s Investor Service lowered the credit ratings of fifteen global banks, including the five largest banks in the United States. The scope of the credit downgrades left many wondering if we are entering a new phase of the global financial meltdown that started in 2008. Despite trillions […]