accounting

Below is an interview with an expert on the issue of mortgage cramdowns. Basically, this issue is all about debt forgiveness for borrowers and writedowns for lenders. Lenders do not like cramdowns for that reason. See below for a view on…

This news comes via Reuters: Bank of America Corp is carrying loans on its balance sheet marked at more than $44 billion above their fair value, the company said in its annual report filed with U.S. regulators on Friday. The bank said it…

Royal Bank of Scotland just reported a record loss for a Britsh company of £24.1 billion pounds. That's about £400 for every living soul in the country:

Chris Whalen, a well-regarded bank analyst, ran an interview piece with Nouriel Roubini on Barry Ritholtz's site. The conversation was very illuminating and I highly recommend reading the whole post linked below. However, I wanted to point…

There is quite a buzz in the German press about Hypo Real Estate. But, what should really get oe's attention is its massive off-balance sheet exposures (hat tip Ulrich). The long and short of reports is that Hypo Real Estate has assets…

This morning, Commerzbank, based in Frankfurt, Germany, released earnings, showing a loss of 809 million euros, which was better than expected. Shares are rallying in European trading as a result. However, the big news was the draconian…

Danielle, a European reader, recently asked what is going on in the European Union regarding mark-to-market. Basically, the EU has already relaxed mark-to-market requirements as an outgrowth of the market turbulence surrounding Lehman…

Below is my translation from an excerpt in the Swiss newspaper NZZ: In 2008, the lucrative business with loans to U.S. students came to an abrupt end. Today, UBS sits on paper that could still be worth $8.4 billion - or less. The collapse…

Now that I have burnished my bullish bona fides with two posts from the optimistic viewpoint, I want to share with you an analysis from John Mauldin that is much closer to the truth regarding where the global economy is headed, what type of…

If you had read the Telegraph on February 12, you would be inclined to believe there might be even more toxic assets on European bank balance sheets than on American bank balance sheets. However, anyone who read the Telegraph later would…