Credit Writedowns

Markets Cheer Stress Test Double Speak - Yves Smith I think the title speaks for itself. Auctions for Troubled Property Loans Jump to the Web - NY Times Perhaps this additional channel for the loans will help clear the underlying…

George H. W. Bush's National Security Advisor talks with Charlie Rose and Carlos Pascual, Brookings Institute vice president and director of Foreign Policy. They opine on "the Obama Doctrine" as Barack Obama nears his 100-day mark in…

It looks pretty clear that the U.S. regulators are going to clean house this year -- at least with small banks.  Hundreds of small banks and credit union will go into receivership in 2009.  However, big banks are getting a free ride. First…

The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) has put Eastern Financial Florida Credit Union into conservatorship, an institution with $1.6 billion in assets. This looks to be the busiest day for regulators since the crisis began.  4…

There is another bust in Idaho, the fourth today, at a cost of nearly $200 million on assets of only $488.9 million.  Ouch.  This is the 29th FDIC seizure in 2009. The FDIC issued the following press release about First Bank of Idaho:…

This makes three today.  Here is the California Press Release.  Note the enormous relative cost as a percentage of assets to the FDIC, which I have bolded.  No bank is taking the deposits or assets here: The Federal Deposit Insurance…

I have highlighted the area that shows the estimated cost to taxpayers below. See the FDIC website for more details: American Southern Bank, Kennesaw, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which…

This is from the Globe & Mail: Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney is signalling frustration with the Obama administration's handling of the financial crisis, saying delays in shoring up the banking system in the United States have…

Ken Lewis, the embattled CEO of Bank of America, has recently admitted to being coerced by U.S. Government officials to consummate the Merrill Lynch acquisition. The problem for Lewis is he may have neglected his fiduciary responsibility…

China is really looking at a lot of other options to get away from the U.S. dollar. The latest report is that it has been building huge gold reserves. There is no doubt that China wants to get out and away from the U.S. dollar now. We…