"Bank executives pan calls to adjust loans; Forgiving debts would be costly, unfair, they say" by Alan Zibel, Associated Press | April 14, 2010
WASHINGTON - Top bank executives are skeptical about helping troubled borrowers by forgiving some debt....
That is so arrogant and ungrateful it defies description.
Such programs “could raise issues of fairness,” said Sanjiv Das, Citigroup’s top mortgage executive, who appeared before the House Financial Services Committee, as did top executives from Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co., and JPMorgan Chase.
You have to be f***ing kidding me, right?
These f***ing blood-sucking leeches and looters are talking about fairness?
David Lowman, chief executive of Chase’s mortgage business, said large-scale mortgage principal reductions “could be harmful to consumers, investors, and future mortgage market conditions.”
I don't see how unless they aren't collecting gobs of interest of more and more de... oh, right. F***ing shaking from the sighing I'm so furious.
These guys deserve the guillotine.
Not an ounce of repentance, remorse, or GRATITUDE for the people who SAVED THEIR ASSES and PROVIDED THEM with BIG OLD BONUSES and BILLIONS in profit this year!!!
Chase estimates that reducing home loan balances so that no homeowners would owe more than the value of their homes would cost up to $900 billion, with $150 billion of that borne by the government.
Like they are now concerned about the homeowner and taxpayer?
They are only concerned about HOW MUCH ARBITRARY PAPER NUMBERS they will LOSE OUT ON and be UNABLE to claim as an "ASSET!"
And the way this article is written is so backwards that it is difficult to analyze.
After the hearing, dozens of activists from the Boston-based Neighborhood Assistance Corp. of America chased Lowman through the Rayburn House Office Building, pressing him to do more for homeowners. He did not respond to their requests for a meeting and eventually left the building with the assistance of police.
Now THERE is something you DO NOT READ ABOUT every day!
Homeowners complained the bank has been difficult to deal with. Charandra Smith of Prince George’s County, Md., said the home she bought in 2007 is now worth $300,000 - a decline of $170,000. Chase, she said, won’t help....
Actually, it is hard for me to feel sorry for little Miss Richer here.
That's the only person the MSM could find as a source?
The four mortgage companies represented at the hearing are the largest in the country and have come under fire for not doing enough to help borrowers as part of the Obama administration’s $75 billion mortgage relief program, which has failed to make a big dent in the problem....
See: Obama's Mortgage Meltdown
Was it really supposed to make a dent?
At the hearing, Bank of America took a more enthusiastic stance than its competitors....
Translation: they were sucking up.
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Oh, I'm sorry; they are going to write down (not off) something.
Sort of like a tough-love forgiveness.
"Home equity write-downs are looming; Banks may need to set aside $30b" by Dakin Campbell and David Henry, Bloomberg News | April 13, 2010
NEW YORK — Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo may have to set aside an additional $30 billion to cover possible losses on home equity loans, an amount almost equal to analysts’ estimates of profit at the three banks this year.
Oh, no kidding?
Hmmmmmmmmmm.
The cost of these reserves was calculated by CreditSights Inc., a New York research firm whose prediction almost four years ago proved prescient after banks reported unprecedented mortgage-related write-downs....
Potential write-downs on the loans are casting a shadow over earnings....
Oh, the poor BILLIONS in PROFIT and BONUSES BANKS!!!!
Gee whiz, hey! Somebody help 'em out, huh?
Action in Washington could spur banks to act. Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, is scheduled to hold a hearing today on how second-lien loans are getting in the way of reworking homeowners’ debts and easing the foreclosure crisis....
Oh, a hearing. Wow. Just getting started after so long, huh?
Second-lien mortgages and most home equity lines of credit rank behind first-lien debt, meaning they get wiped out in a foreclosure if the sale of a home does not raise enough to pay off the first mortgage. Second liens are often closed-end loans in contrast to home equity lines of credit, which can remain open for borrowers to withdraw money, much like a credit card....
Sounds like you are getting screwed again, American.
'Course, it must be all your own fault.
I wonder where your bailout is.
You bailed out banks; you would think the least you could do is bailout yourselves with your own money.
Who is in charge of that, anyway?
"corporate support is key to [a] bill’s passage"
Thanks for clearing that up, John.
Also see: Which Corporations Are Backing the Carbon Tax Bill?
Yeah, we know.
So when something gets passed you KNOW it is NOT GOOD FOR YOU, dear readers.
The four biggest US banks by assets — Bank of America, JPMorgan, Citigroup Inc., and Wells Fargo — hold about 42 percent, or $442 billion of the $1.1 trillion in second-lien mortgage loans, according to Amherst Securities Group.
MSM name-droppers!
Late payments on home equity loans rose to a record in the fourth quarter, the American Bankers Association said April 7.
“Banks have been saying we’re close to the end,’’ said Nancy Bush, an independent bank analyst at NAB Research in Annandale, N.J. “People have built that into their expectations. I don’t think we’re there yet.’’
Oh, we are a long, long way from the "end."
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But there is something the state can do:
"State to move funds after banks won’t cap interest" by Megan Woolhouse, Globe Staff | April 14, 2010
State officials said they will begin divesting at least $212 million in taxpayer dollars from a fund that has deposits in Bank of America, Citi, and Wells Fargo because the banks have not agreed to cap the interest rates they charge consumers at 18 percent.
I'd be careful; they can pull the rug and money supply out from a little piss-ant state government.
National banks based outside of Massachusetts are not required to comply with state’s usury law, which limits interest rates for credit cards and other borrowing to no more than 18 percent. But state Treasurer Timothy P. Cahill said he agreed to move the funds at the request of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, a nonprofit that has advocated for financial reform, and after meetings with Bank of America.
Related(?): Earth Day: Finding God on the Banks of the Charles River
They didn't take 'em down to the river for prayer and baptism, did they?
Cahill said the divestment could take up to six months, and it is unclear where the money will be reinvested....
I don't know; is the Treasurer the best one to be overseeing that?
Bank of America Corp. would lose more than $200 million in deposits as a result of the move.
There go those campaign funds for governor.
James Mahoney, public policy director for Bank of America, said it would be costly and ineffective to run a national bank according to individual state rules on interest rates.
Any excuse to justify usury.
He also said that 70 percent of Bank of America’s customers have interest rates under 15 percent.
Yeah, so, why not here?
“Those with higher interest rates have a higher risk of default, and in many cases, if there was a cap on interest rates, it would be impossible to provide those credit cards,’’ he said.
Well, then why are banks getting like, no-interest "loans" from the Federal Reserve?
That's why people are not using the swiper anymore; they are sick of dog shit like this flowing out the mouth of lying looters!
Citibank and Wells Fargo did not respond to requests for comment yesterday.
Cahill is the sole trustee of the fund, a money market account where the state and municipal governments may keep so-called rainy day money.
Cheri Andes, executive director of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization, said Massachusetts is the first state to take such divestment action, but more than 300 leaders of religious groups from seven states and the District of Columbia will gather today in Washington, D.C., to demand passage of an Interest Rate Reduction Act, which would limit rates on credit cards and consumer loans at 15 percent....
Never saw another word in the Glob, and I almost missed those.
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And GUESS WHO is PROFITING off of the "soft(?)" economy?
"In soft economy, big banks become aggressive traders, eschew lending" by Stephen Bernard, Associated Press | April 22, 2010
NEW YORK — Big banks have found the key to success while they wait for the economy to recover: aggressive trading of bonds, currencies, and commodities.
Related: The Galling Greed of Goldman Sachs
And not only that, they then BET AGAINST the very products they were promoting and MADE MORE MONEY while the rest of us lost our shirts!!!
But they may be heading toward making money on loans again. The big banks that have released earnings over the past week all reported improvements in their consumer loan portfolios. And they are saying mortgage and credit card defaults are declining.
Did they just write those off, or.... ????
Yesterday, Wells Fargo & Co.... reported earnings of $2.37 billion....
For three months "work," readers.
Jamie Cox, managing partner at Harris Financial Group said profits could jump as fast as they fell when the recession and the credit crisis hit.
Then did they REALLY NEED BILLIONS in BAILOUT LOOT in the first place?
Maybe the $$$ could have gone to FORECLOSURE RELIEF INSTEAD!
Even JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s chief executive, Jamie Dimon, was more optimistic than he has been....
After clearing billions in alleged profit, wouldn't you be "optimistic?"
JPMorgan Chase earned $3.3 billion....
Yeah, I'm feeling really optimistic for about 3.3 billion rea$ons!
Not all analysts are convinced, though, that loan losses are on the downswing.
‘‘I think it’s still too early to say we’re turning a corner,’’ said Paul Miller, head of financial institutions research at FBR Capital Markets. Many big banks are relying on other ways of earning money, particularly with their trading operations.
What, they aren't stealing it anymore?
JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp. were able to capitalize on improved markets to go along with modest improvements in lending. Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley, which don’t have the consumer retail businesses that other companies have, generated much of their revenue and profit from trading.
Yeah, by selling you something they bet against later and collecting on the up and down.
But it's ALL GOOD, isn't it?
Morgan Stanley said it earned $1.41 billion....
I don't know if "earned" is the right word, but....
Trading can be a fickle business, however. Banks have been profiting from low interest rates that allow them to borrow money cheaply and put it into higher-yielding investments, such as stocks and corporate bonds.
Yeah, THANKS, Federal Reserve, for boosting up bank profits and letting them play with funny money hot off the presses.
If rates go up, it won’t be so easy for them to make so much money.
That's why the Fed is keeping them near zero.
Oh, don't do that to the poor, billion-dollars-in-profits banks!
That would be SO UNFAIR!!
The Federal Reserve, though, has repeatedly said it plans to keep interest rates low to help sustain economic growth.
What economic growth?
The growth the lying government and cheer-leading MSM put forth?
Miller said trading profits should remain strong as long as the Fed maintains its current strategy.
You know why, right, reader$?
‘‘It’s not sustainable in the long run, but for now will help them earn through the crisis,’’ Miller said.
What is that about doing the same thing and expecting a different result?
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And everybody is selling debt these days, huh?
"Thermo Fisher sells $750m of debt" by Bloomberg News | April 21, 2010
NEW YORK — Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., the world’s largest maker of laboratory instruments, sold $750 million of debt in a two-part offering, according to data compiled by Bloomberg....
Proceeds will be used to redeem Thermo Fisher’s floating-rate convertible debt due in 2033....
Do you have a floating-rate convertible debt on your bill, Americans?
No, just a bunch of surcharges for.... what are these for?
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I wonder how many millions the Thermo Fisher CEO made last year.
That many, huh?
