Downturns in commercial real estate are part of the life cycle of the economy. Developers build up, thinks are hunkey-dorey for a few years, then vacancies start falling, refinancings get harder and there’s a crash. After a clean-out, the cycle starts again. So why is it suddenly so urgent that commercial real estate sign on to the continuous federal bailout program that has so far...
Financial Services Industry Archive
December 2008
Credit card rules approved — The Federal Reserve Board has approved a host of new credit card rules that, effective July 1, 2010, would protect consumers from unexpected interest charges, forbid “two-cycle” billing schemes and allow customers a reasonable amount of time to pay their bills. While consumer advocates criticized the late starting date, one law firm says the rules...
Barack Obama’s expected appointment of Mary L. Schapiro to head the Securities & Exchange Comission signals a period of tougher enforcement but her elevation to the post is not without problems. Schapiro, 53, is currently head of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a non-governmental enforcing of securities rules. Her choice, expected today, would mean that the SEC...
If you are looking to set up banking in the land of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Iron City beer and venison sausages, then opportunity is knocking on your door. Sixty-one branches in Western Pennsylvania owned by National City Bank are up for sale so that Cleveland-based bank can be bought by PNC Financial Services Group of Pittsburgh. Federal anti-trust regulators have mandated that the sale must...
Blood in the halls at BofA — Some 20 high-ranking Bank of America executives have been let go as the company gears up to take over Merrill Lynch which will lead to up to 35,000 job losses overall.. The cuts involve executives just a tier down from the top and involve long-standing members of BofA’s predecessor firms in North Carolina. [Source: The Wall Street Journal] The curious...
Fraud experts sometimes compare chasing financial crime to squeezing a balloon — the air just moves to the other side. Similarly, as financial services providers have put a squeeze on fraud online, crooks have just moved their game to other channels. Thieves are increasingly seeking less-protected “traditional” channels, like the telephone, to steal information, according to industry...
Two distinct banking models seem to emerging from the mess of the financial meltdown. Neither one is particularly new. One model, followed by Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America, is to be a behemoth that is all things to all customers — retail, commercial, investment, global and so on. The second model that seems to be forming is one advocated by some strong, healthy...
Will the defeat of the auto bailout trigger a new global meltdown? – Stormy stock futures and dramatically lower global markets seem to say it will. Veteran economics writer Steven R. Weisman offers comparisons with the global impact of New York City’s financial crisis 33 years ago. [Source: thedailybeast.com] Folks aren’t biting at lower mortgage rates — Rates are...
Bank of America is planning what could be “The Mother of All Layoffs” as it swallows up Merrill Lynch & Co. BofA says that it projects eliminating 30,000 to 35,000 positions over the next three years. It will have a more solid figure in the first quarter of 2009. Venerable Wall Street investment house Merrill Lynch agreed to be bought by BofA after it was swamped by a sea of...
Who will replace Christopher Cox as chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission? The former Republican Congressman has been in office since 2005 and plans to leave when the Obama Administration takes power. Early in his tour, this devotee of Ayn Rand drew good reviews for not being as unabashedly pro-management as many feared. More recently, he has seemed out of the loop as Treasury...
- Banks Failing at Fastest Rate Since S&L Crisis
- Sun Life Doing Boffo Business in Variable Annuities
- Zions Bancorporation: Shareholder Confidence Runs High, But The Worst Is Not Over Yet
- Will Sun Life President Boscia Pay a Call on His Former Company?
- Midsize Banks Have Worst Credit
- Is Manulife Stock 'Depressed?' Ask the Lady in the Bikini
- AIG: Help Wanted, But Will Anyone Apply?
- State Farm Is Warming Up to Florida
- Underrated: S&P, Moody's, Fitch ... and PIMCO
- Geithner's Not Going
- Barney Frank Aide Blasts Media Report Alleging Lack of Progress on Financial Reform
- 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
Subscribe to Financial Services blog comments RSS 
- 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
Industry Transcripts by Seeking Alpha
Brought to you by CBS MoneyWatch.com
- Best- and Worst-Paid College Degrees
- 6 Things You Should Never Do on Twitter or Facebook
- How Much Sleep Do You Really Need?
- 6 Big Myths about Gas Mileage
Archives
Recommended Sources
About Financial Services Industry
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.