In yet another sign that nothing has been learned about banks, NR is back tot the securitisation market.  Why is this important?  Securitisation allows NR to convert mortgages into cash with some discount for market value including predicted bad debts.  Note that Moodys classify the NR issue as triple A so discount will be reduced.  This is what occurred pre 2008.  Then the mortgages that were included in securitised issues turned out to have less value than Moodys classification, so there were losses that had to be covered by an inadequate capital base.  In other words securitisation is another form … Continue reading Northern Rock is back to the securitisation market

The World Bank has a positive view on the Japanese economy despite the awful impacts of the earthquake and tsunami. Singapore, March 21, 2011 Japan real GDP growth will slow, but the slowdown will likely be temporary, as a result of the earthquake and tsunami and growth should start picking up after mid-2011 as reconstruction efforts get underway, says the World Bank in its latest East Asia and Pacific Economic Update released today. While it is still too early for a full assessment, Japan痴 past experience suggests an accelerated reconstruction effort, and the short term impact on the economies of … Continue reading World Bank view on the effects of earthquake on Japan is positive

This is an amazing post.  We are watching the Japanese Defense Force on NHK blowing water on to the Fukushima Daichi nuclear plant to cool the reactor.  As they sit in the truck so close to the reactor, they are being exposed to immense radiation. Then we saw this post from a twenties guy in Northern Japan suffering from Leukemia.  He is going through chemo and he says he has a large truck license.  He has emailed Tokyo Electricity Power Corporation asking that he be allowed to drive those trucks.  All he asks is that he can sit down once … Continue reading There are lots of heroes in the Japanese disaster

I liked this post.  Felix hosted a panel at SXSW and the topic was disruption of the banking system.  The panel comprised: Sean Harper from Fee Fighters Noah Breslow from On Deck Capital Shamir Karkal from Bank Simple Suresh Ramamurthi actually went and bought a tiny bank in Kansas Disrupting the banking system | Felix Salmon Reuters All four of these companies are doing very interesting things, and I’m sure the first three will take some small amount of market share from the big banks by offering friendlier, cheaper, and more efficient services. But my main question for the panel … Continue reading Thoughts on the nature of disruption of banks

Reuters reporting that Mizuho Bank have no ATM access and no internet banking transactions.  There are suggestions that this is not connected to electrical issues, but to bank liquidity issues.  The Bank of Japan is injecting billions ($389 bn in 3 days) into the system, and I wonder if they are winning that battle. (Reuters) – Mizuho Bank said on Thursday that all of its automatic teller machines (ATM) throughout Japan and its Internet transaction system have stopped working. A spokesman for Japan’s second-largest bank said the reason for the outage was not known, although he doubted its was due … Continue reading Reuters reporting that Mizuho Bank have no ATM access

Japan with the 3rd largest economy in the world and involvement of much of the worlds technology (think Sony, Sharp, Kyocera, Toshiba, Toyota, Nissan) will have aftershocks throughout currency markets and costs of goods following the horrific combination of earthquake, tsunami, nuclear incidents and now rolling electrical brownouts including Tokyo that we are just watching now. The Nikkei index dropped 5% Monday morning.  The Bank of Japan is standing by to inject enormous amounts into the economy in Quantitative Easing that exceeds the breadth that even the US has used. These contrasting stories reflect the depth of the problem while … Continue reading The Sendai earthquake in Japan will have long lasting economic effects in Japan and the world

There is lots of discussion these days on the topic of P2P lending, and when I saw Claus post on pricing the other day, I knew it was a hot button topic.  Now that the post has been there a few days, I thought I would offer a few more thoughts on at least what I see as the significance. Thoughts on Future Pricing for P2P Lending Service | P2P-Banking.com Now years after launch, most p2p lending service are “short” of (good) borrowers. Their lenders have a surplus of capital that could be lend out, would there be more loan … Continue reading P2P Lending platform pricing and a comparison to the traditional bank model

Grameen Bank and Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize winning microfinance pioneer formed part of the genesis and confluence of ideas that promoted North American and European P2P Lending.  Yunus, a Nobel prize winner wrote the renowned “Banker to the Poor” that adorns the bookshelfs of most in the P2P business. So it was with some consternation and perplexity that I read this headline. Grameen defies order to dismiss Yunus The bank founded by Muhammad Yunus, the Nobel Prize winning microfinance pioneer, has defied an order by Bangladesh’s financial regulator to remove him from office.  Setting the stage for a battle … Continue reading Grameen bank resists pressure to fire Muhammad Yunus