In any normal year, top executives at leading banks would be getting together in coming weeks to figure out just how happy to make the holiday season for their star performers. They’d be reviewing the numbers, coming up with formulas, selecting favorites and preparing to stroke checks for millions of bonus dollars. This year will prove very different, especially for the top nine banks who...
Financial Services Industry Archive
October 2008
Banks owe executives billions — Banks receiving federal bailout money owe executives $40 billion as of the end of 2007. Paying them will be complicated since legislators insist that federal money go for shoring up banks and buying bad assets rather than compensating top executives. [Source: Wall Street Journal ] BofA sues former Bear Stearns managers — Bank of America is suing three...
Once highly-regarded in the banking industry, National City Bank became a national joke in a matter of months. The Cleveland-based institution is to be taken over by PNC Financial Group which is taking advantage of changes in federal tax law to make it easier to handle the acquisition. As it turns out, Cleveland Plain Dealer blogger Teresa Dixon came out with a list of 10 things National...
Now that many mortgage-laden financial institutions have fallen or been badly damaged, the next victims are expected to be credit card lenders. Common wisdom is that once the recession truly kicks in and unemployment increases, defaults or tardy payments will start crumbling the vast mountain of credit card debt. Companies will get crushed by the avalanche. A leading company to watch is one...
Criticized for worsening the financial crisis, “mark to market” accounting needs to be amended but not suspended, panelists said at an SEC roundtable discussion today. “Breaking or tweaking the thermometer while the doctor is examining the patient isn’t going to save him but we need to set out to help improve fair value reporting,” said Patrick Finnegan of the...
Public pension funds are being hit hard in the financial downturn with many reporting drops of at least 20 percent with more to come after a disastrous October comes to an end. Big funds had dropped about 14.8 percent in value for the year ended Sept. 30, according to investment firm Northern Trust, and are likely to drop another 20 percent this month. The California Public Employees Retirement...
Regional banks to get federal money — At least sixteen regional banks are lined up to get more than $30 billion in stock investments by the Treasury Department. Leading the list are PNC Financial Group with $7.7 billion; Capital One Financial with $3.6 billion; and SunTrust Banks with $3.5 billion. [Source: istockanalyst.com] A good bailout manager is hard to find — The Treasury...
National City Bank survived the Civil War, the Great Depression, the World Wars and the demise and comeback of Cleveland. But it couldn’t withstand the decisions made over the past decade by its CEOs who stand to gain millions in golden parachutes. Once a solid, trusted bank, National City saw its stock tumble and big layoffs of its workforce over the past year. Last week, after the...
The pattern is too familiar. Two profitable, respected banks with limited exposure to mortgages get greedy and try to cash in on the subprime craze. Both end up ready to go out of existence. That’s the case with National City Bank of Cleveland and Wachovia of Charlotte, N.C. Not that long ago, National City was a pillar of the Cleveland business society. Founded in 1845, the bank reliably...
Greenspan admits “mistakes” – Former Fed chief Alan Greenspan admitted yesterday that his hands-off regulatory philosophy had been a mistake. Speaking before a congressional comittee for four hours, Greenspan said he had been wrong in thinking that banks would be able to assess risk competently and discipline themselves. [Source: Wall Street Journal] Big regionals take...
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- Goldman Sachs, Shareholders Just Can't Get Along
- Geithner: Guilty Until Proven Innocent in AIG Debacle
- ECB President Cautions Interest Rate Hike, But Banks Are Ill-Prepared
- Inside Small Business Lending: Short Q&A With An Industry Chief Executive
- As Income Mobility Falls, American Dream Fades
- Lawmakers Push Bill to Monitor Fed Lending Programs
- Eugene Fama Drinks His Own Brand of Kool-Aid
- Roubini Warns of New Financial Crisis
- Ex-Wells Fargo Loan Officer Details Shady Practices
- Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase are too Late in Moving to Curb Overdraft Fees
- Civil Rights Group Teams With Wells Fargo Despite Charges of Predatory Lending
- State Farm CEO Rust: Effective But Not Greedy
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- As Income Mobility Falls, American Dream Fades
- Creative Destruction and the new Money Trust
- Geithner Deal With Wall Street Over AIG Swaps Cost Taxpayers $13 Billion
- Civil Rights Group Teams With Wells Fargo Despite Charges of Predatory Lending
- Senator Dodd Is Saving Lenders From Themselves
- Citigroup Hit With Huge Credit Loss
- FDIC Chief Sheila Bair to Treasury Brat Geithner: Nyah!
- Private Equity Firms About To Gear Up The Small Banking Sector
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The financial industry meltdown has been the worst since the great depression. BNET Financial provides daily industry trends and news coverage with insights for managers and executives about the major financial services companies in the banking and finance sector. In addition to detailed company profiles, we bring you industry analysis on new mergers, partnerships, financial products, rates, investments, capital, and a host of other critical factors of success in the finance business.