This is the most incredibly naive strategy I have ever heard a bank attempt, at least in this decade.  At a minimum the person /group who is purchasing the domains should know better and have told BofA that the lunacy of this approach is that now people will actively go after BofA just to make a point “The WikiLeaks strategy: Bank of America buys up abusive domain names” | Finextra for the original story & Slashdot for some amusing and but insightful comments from folks who know: According to Domain Name Wire, the US bank has been aggressively registering domain … Continue reading Bank of America tries a 1996 strategy to save reputation in preparation for possible WikiLeaks problems

A terrific piece for Xmas eve 2010. Modern bankers have their own Ghost, Mr. Scrooge says DEREK DECLOET From Friday’s Globe and Mail Published Thursday, Dec. 23, 2010 7:05PM EST They haunt him still. The ghosts, I mean – of Christmases Past, Present, and Yet to Come, who appeared in succession one Christmas Eve, long ago, to pry open the cold heart of Ebenezer Scrooge and teach him a thing or two about generosity and the holiday spirit. It’s hard to shake the memory of an experience like that, harder still to forget the lessons it wrought. Mr. Scrooge was … Continue reading “Banking is a simple business – it’s only when you try to make it complicated that you run into trouble”

A quick summary of the Canadian economy from the IMF is generally positive but notes the potential risks already identified by the Bank of Canada, namely consumer debt and impacts felt from the elephant south of the border. Transcript of a Teleconference Call on the International Monetary Fund’s 2010 Article IV Review of Canada | IMF One is we see Canada having weathered the global recession very well, in part, thanks to a big monetary and fiscal stimulus that’s helped to support demand. Another factor we’d point to: unlike in a number of other countries, the financial system has avoided … Continue reading International Monetary Fund Review of Canada

Gillian Tett at the FT makes a profound point.  The US government and people have not seen nor sensed the international shock from the economic crisis that is plainly evident in Europe and in particular UK.  Osborne, Cameron and Clegg are on to something that is certainly months but probably years of the US situation with a lame duck government. The American government are very caught up in politics or infighting.  This is not a good sign. Drama needed to jolt Americans into tackling debt | ft.com The US has hitherto faced extraordinarily little market pressure for fiscal reform. Instead, … Continue reading UK is ahead of US in tackling debt

The purchase of Marshall & Ilsley by BMO provides some instructive and fascinating insight into what is bad about the US Banking crisis during 2007 – 2009. Highlights for the period 2006 – 2009: Capital is relatively unchanged Loans and mortgages grew $4 BN Brokered deposits grew $4BN Conclusion for M&I – recipe for disaster.  The management team should be fired and I would assume that is part of the purchase arrangement.  They had $1Bn + in TARP assistance and the above is a classic example of why. That aside, this is a bank with a lot of history and … Continue reading BMO purchase of Marshall & Ilsley comes down to adequacy of price

The issue of delayed foreclosures in the US as a result of flawed documentation is coming to a head as the Congressional enquiry gets close to end of job.  You will recall this was a result of loss of collateral interest in mortgages where the chain of legal rights had been lost due to the complexity of the securitisation process.  Clearly there are some background interests trying to stymie the inquiry and further investigation.  Careers, reputations and legal recriminations are all on the line.  January will be interesting. FCIC Delays Report Despite Republican Opposition, Citing ‘Very Powerful Interests’ Seeking To … Continue reading The Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (US) is getting heated and close to a (heated) finish

A consultation has been launched with a view to increased simple and understandable products to be made available to the mass market consumer.  There are two papers on this site, one introducing the consultation and requesting responses and the other detailing lessons from prior ‘simple product initiatives.  The main lessons seem to be that enforced government ‘simplicity’ can increase provider costs, and that pricing caps hinder the development of more expensive simple products.  This is interesting because it infers the result might be simple and expensive products?  Anyhow, here are the details. Simple financial products consultation | HM Treasury The … Continue reading Simple products consultation launched by HM Treasury in UK