China's regulators to China's banks: Liar, liar, pants on fire
Even China’s banking regulators don’t believe these numbers. And now they’re saying so in public. Concerned about run-away lending at the country’s banks, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, has asked them to conduct an increasingly harrowing series of stress...China's banks start to samba with Petrobras deal
Another sign of how fast the global financial markets are changing. Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (IDCBY.PK) will be one of the investment banks running the book for the $32 billion share offering of Petrobras (PBR). This will be the first time a Chinese...Look for another wave of bank acquisitions
Banks are about to start scrambling for capital again. In the United States that means it will be hunting season for banks looking to make acquisitions. But because they’re bumping up against rules that limit individual U.S. banks to 10% of national deposits, the...Just what Citigroup doesn't need–more questions about its capital
Exactly how well capitalized is Citigroup (C)? That’s a question that the Financial Times raised on September 7. The answer, the paper reported, depends on not so much on who’s counting the beans, but on who’s deciding what beans count. At issue is something...A banking recovery for big banks only?
Increasingly the U.S. banking story is a tale of two sectors. For big banks, it’s the best of times. Well, at least, a very tasty recovery. For small banks, it’s, if not the worst of times, still pretty grim. And the discrepancy is still growing. The 7,000 banks...China is creating bank capital out of thin air–and that's not good
You’ve got to give China’s most recent effort to increase the capital of China’s largest banks big points for chutzpah. That’s not exactly an endorsement for these banks as investments, however. Or of the soundness of China’s troubled banking system. On August 24...Update HSBC (HBC)
It’s by no means a done deal—nothing is in South Africa these days—but Nedbank, the South African bank majority owned by insurer Old Mutual (OML.L), is HSBC’s (HBC) deal to lose. HSBC beat out rival Standard Chartered (SCBFF.PK) for the right to hammer out a formal...Euro (central bank) politics kill the euro rally–dead
If this is what a euro hawk is saying now, the European Central Bank will be in the emergency lending business well into 2011. That would match the U.S. Federal Reserve’s recent promise (most recently from Fed chairman Ben Bernanke today, August 27) to continue its...McDonald's financial secret sauce contains yuan
Want some yuan with that Big Mac? On August 19 McDonald’s (MCD) became the first foreign non-financial company to sell yuan-denominated bonds in Hong Kong. The U.S. company sold 200 million yuan (about $30 million) of 3% notes due in September 2013. Standard Chartered...China's new bank stress test is so tough it signals trouble ahead
Now that’s a stress test. Bank regulators in China said on August 5 that the country’s stress test of its banks will include a worst-case drop in real estate prices of 50% to 60% in the country’s most speculative markets. Take that Euro Zone and even the United...Update HSBC (HBC)
Wait! A bank with too much capital? Hard to believe but analysts at UBS calculate that’s exactly the “problem” that HSBC (HBC) is likely to face over the next four years. UBS forecast that the bank’s Tier One capital ratio hit 10% by the middle of 2010 after...Could reforming Fannie and Freddie wreck the Fed?
And now, fresh off passing the 2300-page Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Congress promises to address the “problem” of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Be afraid. Be very afraid. Oh, not because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac don’t need to be...It's a wonderful bank
If you were designing a bank now, from scratch, for growth and maximum profits, what kind of bank would you build? Bank earnings to date—from the biggest and most aggressive investment banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS) to the do-everything behemoths such as JPMorgan...Update US Bancorp (USB)
US Bancorp (USB) CEO Richard Davis wasn’t all that optimistic about the U.S. economy in the conference call after his company reported second quarter earnings on July 21. Demand for credit from businesses continues to fall and unemployment may climb to 10% later in...Goldman decides to play nice and, intentionally, pays the price in revenue
I’m looking at the earnings report from Goldman Sachs (GS) yesterday, July 20, as the second part of the company’s fine for bad behavior. The first part, the official part, was the company’s $550 million settlement with the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission.)...Bad news banks: Citigroup and Bank of America results show a slowing U.S. economy
Yesterday’s second quarter earnings report from JPMorgan Chase (JPM) raised concern among investors. The bank reported falling revenue—just 6% it’s true—in its investment banking business. That seemed to confirm concerns that the Wall Street side—investment banking,...Goldman will take the SEC's fine out of petty cash
It’s not even a slap on the wrist. The $550 million fine agreed to by Goldman Sachs (GS) as part of its settlement with the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) amounts to roughly a week’s worth of trading revenue for Goldman. Considering that the SEC put the...Beijing delivers a profit to big investors in first day of trading for Agricultural Bank of China offering
Shares of Agricultural Bank of China climbed on the Shanghai stock exchange in the first day of trading after the company’s IPO (initial public offering.) The gain was only 0.8% for the day, but that’s impressive enough since the Shanghai Composite Index was down 1.9%...Earnings up 289%, stock up just 37 cents–why isn't Wall Street dancing at JPM Chase earnings?
So far, so good for bank stocks. This morning, July 14, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) reported second quarter earnings of $1.09 a share. Not only was that a 289% increase from the second quarter of 2009 but it beat Wall Street projections for a 159% jump in earnings and...Today's best guess is that Euro banks will need $55 to $125 billion in new capital after stress test
Every analyst on—and many off (including yours truly)—Wall Street is trying to put numbers to the results of the Euro Zone’s bank stress test. In recent days we’ve moved from opinions on which country’s banks will be hit hardest (See my post of yesterday, July 8,...Naming names: now we know which 91 European banks will face the none-too-challenging stress test
More details last night on who and what are in the stress tests now being administered to European banks in an effort to restore confidence in the financial market. First, we now know that 91 banks will be included in the test. And thanks to last night’s release from...Watch for a buying opportunity on my watch-list banks if earnings disappoint this quarter
If you’ve been waiting for the three bank stocks I added to Jim’s Watch List on June 25 see my post https://jubakpicks.com/2010/06/25/financial-reform-wont-hit-the-big-banks-anywhere-near-as-hard-as-wall-street-wants-you-to-believe/ )to sell off before putting in a...International regulators are getting trounced by the banks too
The lesson is clear: Never, never underestimate the ability of banks to beat back the regulators when it really counts. You might have thought that the international regulators in charge of formulating a new set of rules called Basel III would have had the upper hand...Financial reform won't hit the big banks anywhere near as hard as Wall Street wants you to believe
So is it just standard issue Wall Street arrogance or does JPMorgan Chase (JPM) know something? The bank, which has emerged from the financial crisis as one of the strongest big banks in the United States, is pressing ahead with discussions to buy a big Brazilian...Goodbye Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as feds decide to delist stocks on NYSE
Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, once the giants of the mortgage financing world—plunged yesterday, June 16, on news that the companies’ shares would no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares will trade only on the over-the-counter bulletin board...Want to tag along as the smart money buys bank shares? Here are three stocks stocks that fit the strategy
The “smart” money is buying U.S. bank stocks. William Ackerman, who runs hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, recently bought 150 million shares of Citigroup (C). John Paulson, the manager of hedge fund Paulson & Co., added 11% to his already huge...New rules to lower already low yields on money market funds
Talk about terrible timing. New rules from the Securities & Exchange Commission that require money market funds to hold at least 10% of their assets in cash or in highly liquid investments such as U.S Treasuries that can be converted to cash in one day will reduce...LIBOR climbs and bank stocks fall–what else is new?
Bank stocks are down today around the world—and the blame goes to that old devil LIBOR. Dollar LIBOR, the London Interbank Offered Rate that banks pay for short-term loans in dollars, climbed to 0.536% from 0.510% yesterday. That’s the 11th day in a row that LIBOR has...German finance minister compares Wall Street to swamp-dwelling frogs; frogs will sue, they croak
My favorite quote of the day about Wall Street’s complaints about financial reform comes from German finance minister Wolfgang Schaube. “If you want to drain a swamp, you don’t ask the frogs for an objective assessment of the situation,” he...Jim’s Daily Email Alerts:
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