As promised in the previous post on Ireland, here is an interesting e-mail from a reader discussing some of the facts around the Irish banking system bailout – particularly as it relates to Anglo Irish Bank:
Tag Archive for Bank Bailout
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, Taken Down
After sticking it to Ireland a few years back, EU "fixes" the bank bailout plan – Sober Look
by Sober Look • • 0 Comments
Ireland was the one country in the Eurozone “periphery” that seemed to be bucking the trend (see post). Many had hoped that the nation will be able to withstand the Eurozone recession due to its strong trade balance. Exports were really humming until g…
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, Taken Down
Too-big-to-fail Q&A. Get the facts. Sober Look
by Sober Look • • 0 Comments
The debate around “too big to fail” of the US banking system is often infused with political rhetoric and media hype. Let’s go through some Q&A on the subject and discuss the facts.
Q: Did large banks take disproportionate amounts of real-estate related risk vs. smaller banks prior to the crisis?
A: No. That’s a myth. Smaller banks were much more exposed to real estate (see discussion).
Q: Which “too big to fail” banks were directly bailed out by the US federal authorities during the 2008 crisis?
A: While hundreds of banks were forced to take TARP funds, only Citigroup (among US banks) received an explicit bailout to keep it afloat. Note that Bear Stearns (and Lehman), AIG, GM/GMAC, Chrysler, Fannie and Freddie were not banks. Neither was GE Capital and other corporations who relied on commercial paper funding and needed the Fed’s help to keep them afloat. Wachovia may have become the second such large bank if it wasn’t purchased by Wells.
Q: Why did Citi fail in 2008?
A: Citi ran into trouble because of a massive off-balance-sheet portfolio the firm funded with commercial paper. In late 2007, when the commercial paper market dried up, Citi was forced to take these assets onto its balance sheet. The bank was not sufficiently capitalized to absorb the losses resulting from these assets being written down.
Q: What were the assets Citi was “warehousing” off-balance-sheet?
A: A great deal of that portfolio was the “AAA” and other senior tranches of CDOs that Citi often helped originate (including mortgage related assets). Rating agencies were instrumental in helping banks like Citi structure these assets and keep them off balance sheet in CP conduits.
Q: Why did Citi (as well as many other banks) hold so much off-balance sheet?
A: Because they received a significantly more favorable capital treatment by doing so (the so-called “regulatory capital arbitrage” – see discussion from 2009).
Q: Did Citi break any state or federal laws by doing what it did?
A: No. All of this was perfectly legal and federal authorities were aware of these structures.
Q: Did derivatives positions play a major role in Citi’s failure? Were other large US banks at risk of failure due to derivatives positions?
A: No. That’s a myth. The bulk of structured credit positions (tranches) that brought down Citi were not derivatives (just to be clear, CDOs are not derivatives).
Q: What has been done since 2008 to make sure the Citi situation doesn’t happen again?
A:
- The US regulators now have the ability to take over and manage an orderly unwind of any large US chartered bank. Banks are required to create a “living will” to guide the regulators in the unwind process. The goal is to force losses on creditors in an orderly fashion without significant disruptions to the financial system and without utilizing taxpayer money.
- Large banking institutions are now required to have more punitive capital ratios than smaller banks.
- Capital loopholes related to off-balance-sheet positions have been closed.
- Stress testing conducted by the Fed takes into account on- and off-balance sheet assets, forcing banks to maintain sufficient capital to be able to take a hit. US banks more than doubled the weighted average tier one common equity ratio since the crisis (see attached).
Q: Do large US banks have a funding advantage relative to small banks?
A: Not any longer. According to notes from the meeting of the Federal Advisory Council
and the Board of Governors (attached – h/t Colin Wiles @forteology), “Studies point to a significant decrease in any funding advantage that large U.S. financial institutions may have had in the past relative to smaller financial institutions and also relative to nonfinancial institutions at comparable ratings levels. Increased capital and liquidity, in addition to meeting the demands of many regulatory bodies, has largely, if not entirely, eroded any cost-of-funding advantage that large banks may have had.”
Q: What is the downside of breaking up banks like JPMorgan?
A: Large US corporations need large banks to provide credit and capital markets access/services (Boeing is not going to use Queens County Savings Bank). Without large US banks, US companies will turn to foreign banks and will be at the mercy of those institutions’ capital availability and regulatory frameworks. Foreign banks will also begin dominating US capital markets primary activities (bond issuance, IPOs, debt syndications, etc.) And in an event of a credit crisis foreign banks (who are to some extent controlled by foreign governments) will give priority to their domestic corporations, putting US firms at risk.
Q: How large are US largest banks relative to the US total economic output? How does it compare to other countries?
A: See chart below:
So before jumping on the “too big to fail” bandwagon, get the facts.
Meeting of the Federal Advisory Council
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Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, Taken Down
The Eurozone’s commitment to supporting Spanish banks questioned by S&P, others – Sober Look
by Walter Kurtz • • 0 Comments
This is a syndicated repost courtesy of Sober Look. To view original, click here. Reposted with permission. Kostas Kalevras had another good post on the latest data release from the Bank of Spain (here). The good news is that Spanish banks’ borrowings from the ECB fell in September, following the ECB’s commitment to do “whatever…
Contributors- Economic and Financial, Must Read, Taken Down
Transfer issues will plague Spanish bank bailout – Sober Look
by Walter Kurtz • • 0 Comments
The Spanish bank bailout process still lacks sufficient detail – after months since the announcement (see discussion). Here is the latest: 1. The so-called “Bad Bank” will use 10% equity injection and 90% guaranteed by the Spanish governm…
Latest Business Headlines
Asian stocks jump on Spain bank bailout – Full story
by Newswires • • 0 Comments
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Latest Business Headlines
Euro jumps in Asian trade after Spain bank bailout – Full Story
by Newswires • • 0 Comments
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Liquidity Trader, Professional Edition
Treasury Yield Uptick Marks and Interesting Turn of Events
by Lee Adler • • 0 Comments
Extended excerpt from the Executive Summary. The Treasury had a very light calendar and easy skating last week, but the calendar will be heavier in the week ahead, with notes and bonds being offered in addition to the regular weekly bill auctions. The notes and bonds will settle on Friday. It’s unusual for them to…
European Crisis
Investors flee Spanish debt amid bank bailout fears – Full Story
by Newswires • • 0 Comments
(via AFP) Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has admitted the state is struggling to borrow, as its risk premium hit a euro-era record and fears spread over the country’s stricken banks. Rajoy sought Monday to calm investors after the distressed lender Bankia pleaded for the biggest state rescue in Spanish…
European Crisis, Latest Business Headlines
Bankia confident of getting 19 bn euro bailout- Full Story
by Newswires • • 0 Comments
(via AFP) The new president of Spain’s fourth-biggest bank, Bankia, said Saturday he was confident of receiving from the government 19 billion euros ($24 billion) in the largest bank bailout in the country’s history. Jose Ignacio Goirigolzarri voiced his optimism that the struggling bank, which holds some 10…