Hartford Financial, one of the most troubled of the major insurers, went out of the box today and hired former Bank of America consumer and small business banking president Liam McGee as its new CEO. McGee is an interesting choice for the 200-year old multi-line insurer, which got in trouble last year for wading into the variable annuities market, and getting both feet stuck in quicksand....
Financial Services Industry Archive
September 2009
Soon-to-depart Morgan Stanley chief executive John Mack yesterday proposed “an uber-regulator” for the global banking system. Mack said that he thinks a single global regulator would better handle the potential for another round of systematic risk, and that such an institution would also make sure that the U.S. was competing on a similar playing field with other global banks. John...
“If U.S. banks were broken up and no longer too big to fail, they wouldn’t be able to compete worldwide with other banks,” says Forbes today. Not only is this wrong, but in fact the opposite is true. How do we know? History, for one. Standard Oil was broken up in 1911. Today, according to Forbes, two of the 10 largest companies in the world are ExxonMobil and Chevron, which...
Each quarter newswires do their traditional “earnings prewrite,” quoting analysts on how an industry is faring. Not surprisingly, this quarter’s prediction for property and casualty insurers is positive. And, if anyone needs reminding, it’s because there weren’t any hurricanes troubling our coastline, defying the prediction by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
The Federal Reserve’s plan to clamp down on credit card issuers represents a funny about-turn on its previous hands-off economic stance. Only a little while ago, you might remember, former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan mulled a similar sort of effort over subprime lenders, but concluded ultimately that it would “require a vast effort with no certainty of results.” Today, the Fed...
The FDIC today proposed shoring up its depleted deposit insurance fund by requiring banks to contribute in advance a total of $45 billion in quarterly payments they’re scheduled to make to support the DIF through 2012. The agency also wants to slightly raise that periodic assessment beginning in 2011. ”Our analysis suggests that the industry can step up, and so we’re asking them to do...
On the surface, it seems quite sensible that banks ought to prepay Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) premiums through 2012 in order to give the regulator some much-needed cash. A total 95 bank failures this year has left FDIC-coffers dry, to the tune of around $42 billion, according to reports. The pre-payment of premiums would give it another $45 billion in cash, helping it to...
How refreshing when the U.S. comes up with an idea that will actually work! The Financial Times is reporting that the U.S. and its allies may place sanctions on companies, such as Munich Re and consortiums like Lloyds of London, that provide insurance for Iran’s oil supply. Such a move might actually bring this rogue nation and its unpopular leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to the bargaining...
Emerging markets, not mature economies, will drive global financial growth in years to come, concludes a new report by the McKinsey Global Institute (registration required). Countries in Asia, Latin America and other developing regions got soaked last year as housing and credit bubbles in the U.S. and Western Europe popped. China took the biggest bath, with a $2.4 trillion decline in total...
The recession has taken its toll on many industries, and property-casualty insurers are no exception. P-C insurers took quite a hit in the first six months of this year, with net income after taxes falling nearly 60 percent to $5.8 billion from $14.1 billion in the year ago period, according to the two industry bibles, the Insurance Information Institute and ISO. Those who follow earnings for...
- 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
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- AIG: Help Wanted, But Will Anyone Apply?
- State Farm Is Warming Up to Florida
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- 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
- More Homeowners Face Mortgage Woes
- If Consumer Prices Are Down, Why Are Car Insurance Rates Up?
- 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
- Analyst: Banking Industry Risks "Implosion"
- The Many Faces of Michael Oxley
- Citigroup Hit With Huge Credit Loss
- 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.