Profitability, subprime, US

US Regional Banks listed as “problem” increasing, but still much less that 1980’s

Colin Henderson

As the IndyMac failure is taken care of, attention is turning to the next round, and the focus is squarely on the smaller regional US banks. The good news is that this is not expected to be as bad as the rates of failure that occurred in the late 80’s early 90’s and that is based on the record of non-performing loans at Banks. Currently there are 90 Banks noted in the ‘problem’ category. The key will be the strength of the economy, maintenance of employment levels, and continued ability to maintain debt payments. FT.com / Companies / Financial services … Continue reading US Regional Banks listed as “problem” increasing, but still much less that 1980’s

AI2 Comments

ebank Japan | designed to exploit internet channel

Colin Henderson

Chris posts about eBank in Japan. They are an exclusively internet Bank and some of the statistics are staggering. They have $8 bn in assets, and yet only 195 employees. swiftcommunity.net eBank purely exists as an internet bank, accessible via any internet-attached device which, these days, is predominantly the mobile phone. eBank, because of this exclusive channel focus upon internet-based banking, built a bank specifically to exploit this channel. This is radically different to most banks that built internet banking as an additional channel to exploit the existing bank. They are built for pure automation wherever possible. The account open … Continue reading ebank Japan | designed to exploit internet channel

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Santander is officially a world leader

Colin Henderson

If any of us require an example of an effective modern bank, Santander and Spanish Banks in general are terrific examples. To eliminate duplication, and centralise functions is always a good thing in achieving better customer results. Finextra: Santander to seek £65 million IT savings in A&L takeover Spain’s Banco Santander expects to save £180 million a year from cutting jobs and centralising IT systems as it merges the UK’s Abbey with newly-acquired high street rival Alliance & Leicester. Continue reading Santander is officially a world leader

subprime3 Comments

Fannie and Freddie double the US national debt

Colin Henderson

The combined debt load of the two mortgage holding companies is over $5 trillion, and equivalent to the entire US national debt.  To date the Fannie/ Freddie debt has been ‘off balance sheet’ and therefore not included in the national debt.  Economist They [Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac] hold or guarantee some $5.2 trillion of the nation’s $12 trillion of mortgages, backed by the thinnest wafer of capital, meaning their collapse would imperil the already paralysed American housing market. Yet as Joshua Rosner, an analyst at Graham Fisher, a research firm, points out, nationalising them, a stark choice for the … Continue reading Fannie and Freddie double the US national debt

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Rumours of bloggings death are greatly exaggerated | you are the new A List

Colin Henderson

I find the Calcanis exit from blogging laughable. My take … what he really is feeling is the death of A-list blogging. Note the key comment in the ‘death’ link – no-one in the iphone line recognised Scoble when he walked/ videoed the line up – not one! And that was in San Francisco! I watched the entire video, and its clear no-one recognised him. A-listers have become too caught up in their own importance. I loved it in 2003 when Scoble passionately spoke of what Microsoft had to do to improve. In 2003 it was fun and informative to … Continue reading Rumours of bloggings death are greatly exaggerated | you are the new A List

subprime, US8 Comments

IndyMac bank failure | 3rd largest in US history

Colin Henderson

IndyMac is a deposit taking institution in the US, that only lends mortgages, and specialises in sub prime. Federal regulators took it over Friday, and it will re-open Monday under FDIC supervision. IndyMac seized as financial troubles spread | Reuters IndyMac joins top bank failures headed by the 1984 collapse of Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust Co. The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) insisted IndyMac’s failure was the second-largest bank failure based on FDIC figures. But the FDIC said its data showed it was third behind the collapse of First RepublicBank Corp in 1988. Continue reading IndyMac bank failure | 3rd largest in US history

AI

Bank of America and PayPal are Only Financial Brands in Apple’s App Store at Launch | Netbanker

Colin Henderson

I have been following the iphone 3G launch with interest, and am shocked that Wells Fargo are not there. Hat tip to netbanker. Creation of iphone apps is not that hard, small cost, high media return. Being based in California I would have expected …. sorry Wells but I have to make note of that. I hope its in the works. Bank of America and PayPal are Only Financial Brands in Apple’s App Store at Launch (NetBanker) Bank of America once again proved its mobile mettle as the only financial institution to have a native app available at the launch … Continue reading Bank of America and PayPal are Only Financial Brands in Apple’s App Store at Launch | Netbanker

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RBC and BMO dabble in Sharia products

Colin Henderson

This has to be a harbinger of things to come. The story is worth clicking through to as it describes the sale of Aston Martin to a group that involved some Kuwaitis. The deal had to be structured to reflect the interest of the Kuwaitis and to conform to Islamic finance principles. The story goes on to note RBC and BMO have hired experts, and plan to expand their offerrings in this area. Canadian Banks & Insurance In February, Royal Bank of Canada hired Zaher Barakat, who teaches Islamic banking and finance at Cass Business School in London, as head … Continue reading RBC and BMO dabble in Sharia products

AI

MShift, provides SEFCU members with secure, one-click access to online account information from FaceBook

Colin Henderson

Original use of online banking by SEFCU. Interesting to have an application access from inside FB. It will be interesting to follow the security considerations there. Finextra: SEFCU taps Facebook Albany, New York-based credit union SEFCU is the latest financial institution looking to tap the Facebook generation by launching a banking application on the social networking site. The tool, developed by mobile banking specialist MShift, provides SEFCU members with secure, one-click access to online account information. All data is encrypted with a minimum of 128 bits and no user data is stored on the Facebook servers. Continue reading MShift, provides SEFCU members with secure, one-click access to online account information from FaceBook

subprime

“while imposing losses on shareholders and unsecured creditors, thereby ­limiting moral hazard” | Bernanke

Colin Henderson

A highly telling and profound statement from Bernanke yesterday. While the notion of ‘public losses’ is not entirely clear, the second part that they will impose losses on shareholders, read Banks, is very clear. I read that a if a Bank is not viable it is not going to be saved, notwithstanding the crisis, and Bear Stearns albeit and investment Bank, is the best example so far. Which Bank will be the first? FT.com / World / US & Canada – Fed ready to extend bank aid “A bridge bank authority is an important mechanism for minimising public losses from … Continue reading “while imposing losses on shareholders and unsecured creditors, thereby ­limiting moral hazard” | Bernanke