bankdecay

Only the Shadow Banking System Knows

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 00:45:24 -0400

WSJ- The End of Community Banking

Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:21:56 -0400

hilker:

jessarmentrout:

Creditworthy borrowers will be denied loans as small banks devote more and more energy to regulatory compliance.

inothernews: TALK TO THE $3.46 BILLION HAND A security guard...

Tue, 20 Apr 2010 09:04:06 -0400

inothernews:

TALK TO THE $3.46 BILLION HAND A security guard tried to block a photographer’s view outside of Goldman Sachs’s London offices Monday. The British Financial Services Authority is looking into U.S. fraud charges against the financial firm after Prime Minister Gordon Brown accused Goldman of “moral bankruptcy.”

I don’t understand these people. They make BILLIONS of dollars - in some cases underhandedly and in others unscrupulously - and they have a problem being photographed? Give us a fucking break.

(Photo: Leon Neal / AFP-Getty via the Wall St. Journal)

i fucking hate natwest online banking

Sat, 17 Apr 2010 18:27:58 -0400

vanityxo:

WHY ARE YOU SAYING IM ENTERING THE WRONG PASSWORD

DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE FEJLS;DOR[‘PO4HE

Citigroup Execs: We’re Sorry

Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:28:20 -0400

Citigroup Execs: We’re Sorry:

ihatethismess:

Should make for some good public theater: Chuck Prince and Robert Rubin, two former Citigroup execs, are testifying before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission on Tuesday. “I can only say that I am deeply sorry that our management – starting with me – was not more prescient and that we did not foresee what lay before us,” said Prince, who resigned as CEO of Citigroup in 2007. He said that he thought the mortgage-backed securities that cost Citigroup billions of dollars posed “virtually no risk” and said much of the blame lay with the credit-rating agencies that gave such securities high grades. Meanwhile, Rubin, who served as U.S. Treasury Secretary in the nineties and was Citigroup’s interim chairman until January 2009, said that the high ratings made him think the securities were “money good.” “Almost all of us involved in the financial system, including financial firms, regulators, ratings agencies, analysts and commentators, missed the powerful combination of forces at work and the serious possibility of massive crisis,” Rubin said. “We all bear responsibility for not recognizing this, and I deeply regret that.

BofA to start reducing mortgage principal - washingtonpost.com

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:51:47 -0400

BofA to start reducing mortgage principal - washingtonpost.com:

sunsmudge:

Bank of America, the nation’s largest mortgage lender, announced a program Wednesday to offer homeowners who owe significantly more than their homes are worth the opportunity to have their loan balances reduced.

The program, which starts in May, would potentially help about 45,000 homeowners across the country. In launching the effort, Bank of America is jumping into the debate about how to address the millions of homeowners whose mortgages exceed the value of their homes and who have complicated industry and government efforts to prevent foreclosures.

(via fencehopping)

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:49:16 -0400

(via fencehopping)

figuremeout: meckenicalrobot: via www.mbd2.com so true in...

Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:22:57 -0500

figuremeout:

meckenicalrobot:

via www.mbd2.com

so true in a monetary system….it doesn’t even mater if their dumb as shit… honestly every one should make the rule and the need for money shouldn’t be, …DOWN WITH THE MONETARY SYSTEM…hopefully one day.

“ZEITGEIST: ADDENDUM”

Photo

Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:37:28 -0400

may have… ok, sure. (via shawnblog)

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 11:37:00 -0400

may have… ok, sure. (via shawnblog)

The Future of Banking? Deposit Checks via iPhone

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 19:34:25 -0400

The Future of Banking? Deposit Checks via iPhone

New Hampshire man charged 23 quadrillion dollars for smokes.

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 23:46:41 -0400

New Hampshire man charged 23 quadrillion dollars for smokes.:

fatsy:

Bank of America tells WMUR-TV only the card issuer, Visa, could answer questions. Visa, in turn, referred questions to the bank.

Japan caught dumping US Treasury Bonds

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:56:13 -0400

Japan caught dumping US Treasury Bonds:

spacepants:

financegeek:

azspot:

“Those of you around the world who are holding U.S. Treasury notes would do well to consult with a qualified financial planner to see how quickly you can dump any U.S. Treasury Bonds and any U.S. Dollars you may be holding before the U.S. suffers the economic collapse which is now unavoidable. If you are left holding Bonds or Dollars, you will likely be financially wiped out when the US Government repudiates its debt because it simply cannot pay anymore.”

This is an irresponsible and poorly thought out blog post if I’ve ever seen one. It is all unfounded claims and vague assertions. Motives are implied, wildly, and official sources are cherrypicked to suit the crazy claims. I reflex-posted the first article about this story before the facts were out, but this is looks like a clear-cut case of amateur forgery.

I’ll quickly outline the ways that the conspiracy theory listed in the linked article doesn’t hold up.

1) They got caught. If the Japanese wanted to get away with something they could easily send the bonds with a diplomat, who can refuse search and return home, as opposed to risking seizure sending them with a movie-plot smuggling plan via train, in an unnecessary third country.

2) The bond denominations that every source reporting on the story says were printed do not exist, and certainly not in the quantity described. Bearer bonds were never used for inter-governmental debt either.

3) Somehow selling these bonds on the “black market” to another government would require the owner to take a significant discount on them…and they would have to find a foreign government (or massive financial entity) who has the stones to buy them and one day redeem them for cash without stating where they came from.

4) The people that the Japanese government allegedly trusted with 3% of their GDP broke and confessed under a month of Italian police custody.

5) Seriously, there just were never that many bearer bonds issued. There are only 100 Million Dollars of US Treasury Bearer Bonds outstanding right now. Period. End of story.

There’s no conspiracy here. Move along folks.

If you read more of Bill Totten’s blog you’ll find more poorly researched selective readings of economic theory and history. It’s the same kind of stories you see in YouTube documentaries: about how the entire banking system is a sham, yada yada yada. This guy isn’t Noam Chomsky, or even Mencius Moldbug. What he lacks in knowledge he more than makes up for in unsolicited financial advice and outright fabrications, though.

I wanted to attack that blog, then checked this post’s reblog history. Financegeek nailed it, esp with the last sentence.

Regulators shut 5 more banks; 45 failures this year - USATODAY.com

Sun, 28 Jun 2009 14:49:24 -0400

Regulators shut 5 more banks; 45 failures this year - USATODAY.com

A Virtual Bank With Real Woes | NYTimes.com

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 03:49:33 -0400

A Virtual Bank With Real Woes | NYTimes.com:

shadowfirebird:

‘Another big bank is the subject of a depositor run amid charges its chairman has run off with customers’ money. Thankfully, this scandal is taking place in Eve Online, a space-age virtual reality created by CCP, a games developer and Iceland’s coolest company. But these troubles in the ether may offer some valuable lessons for earthly banking and regulation.’

(Via The Morning News.)

"The government stands to earn even more when it sells the stock warrants it holds in conjunction..."

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 05:37:35 -0400

“The government stands to earn even more when it sells the stock warrants it holds in conjunction with its preferred shares in the 10 bank-holding companies that are paying their bailout.”

- Bank bailout turns out to have been good business for U.S.

iboong: bank

Wed, 06 May 2009 12:33:50 -0400

iboong:

bank

PIN Crackers Nab Holy Grail of Bank Card Security

Sun, 26 Apr 2009 23:55:35 -0400

PIN Crackers Nab Holy Grail of Bank Card Security:

(via oxyidiot)

STRETCH (via shawnblog)

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:47:52 -0400

STRETCH (via shawnblog)

Starting a Disruptive Bank

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 03:28:32 -0400

pegobry:

johncarney:

Over at Clusterstock, we give a lot of thought to the future of banking. So many banks have gone bust this year that there seems to be an opportunity for starting a bank that would run very differently.

One obvious strategy would be to radically change the online banking experience. Most bank websites are clunky and unfriendly. The user experience could be vastly improved. Having, for instance, something like a Microsoft Money application would be nice. Between credit cards and ATMs, my bank knows where almost all my money goes. So why isn’t it tracking this for me, displaying it graphcially, and allowing me to consider what would happen if I shifted money from one activity to another?

Over at Continuations, Albert has been trying to conceive of a disruptive bank. There are some good ideas being discussed, particularly about how to make customers happier with the fees. But the main idea seems to be to separate the functions of a deposit bank and a lending bank. What he seems to have in mind is a 100% reserve bank that wouldn’t lend out the money of its customers. This would mostly mean eliminating interest, which is a substantial cost for customers. It’s not clear at all to me why this would benefit customers, especially since deposits are covered by FDIC insurance.

Albert suggests allowing customers who want to earn interest be allowed to select various lending schemes with part of their money. This would make participating in fractional reserve banking more transparent. But, again, its a lot more work for bank customers without much upside. I could see a certain type of libertarian being philosophically attracted to this kind of bank but its clearly not for the general customer.

Still, it’s good to see smart people trying to rethink banking.

(via navsmusings)

Three words: Zappos of banking. Put everything into customer service.