Entries Tagged 'Banks' ↓
September 17th, 2008 — Banks, Chase, Credit Crunch, Economy, HSBC, Washington Mutual
The federal government has started cold-calling large banks, seeking to put together a deal for a buyout of Washington Mutual [[WM]].
The main roadblock to finding a suitable buyer has been that no one knows exactly what they’ll get into. The condition of WaMu’s books is a mystery.
The New York Post reported earlier today that banking regulators have been in talks with Wells Fargo [[WFC]], JPMorgan Chase [[JPM]], and HSBC, among others.
Shares of Washington Mutual have crashed in recent weeks as concerns mounted regarding losses in the bank’s lending portfolios. Shares of the Seattle-based thrift have fallen almost 50% over the past month and are off 83% for the entire year.
Over the last quarter, Washington Mutual lost over $3 billion, about $6.50 per share, as it put away more than $8 billion to cover bad loans in its mortgage holdings.
July 15th, 2008 — Banking, Banks, Credit Crunch, Economy, Washington Mutual
As shares of Washington Mutual skidded towards the bottom today, the cost-cutting company plans on handing out pink slips to employees by September.
The layoff was announced to employees late last week, but the Seattle-based thrift has so far declined to confirm the numbers.
A company spokesperson said that WaMu is “looking critically at everything we do, and everything is on the table except what’s necessary to maintain outstanding customer service and ensure we have high-quality controls in place.”
It is not known how many employees will be affected and which departments will be impacted.
Workers who receive layoff notices will probably be allowed to stay until the end of the year and may get a retention bonus for doing so. Severance packages will probably be offered at that time.
WaMu has announced more than 7,000 layoffs since December.
At the most recent count, WaMu employed 45,833 people across the country.
May 8th, 2008 — Banking, Banks, Canada, Economy
The governor of the Bank of Canada, similar to the U.S. Federal Reserve, has said that he will take a tougher stand with Canadian financial institutions that wind up in financial trouble because of bad decisions.
Governor Mark Carney says that Canada’s central bank will not rescue financial institutions like the U.S. government did with the Bear Stearns brokerage.
In a statement to a Senate committee last week, he said,
If you cannot make a judgment on the value of an asset, you should not own the security. There is very high value, if a situation came about, to ensuring the shareholders and senior managers bear the full consequences of their actions. The Bank of Canada has a role to become lender of last resort, but we would do that on the advice of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions that the institution is solvent, not because the institution needed money.
Carney said Canada’s central bank would come to the aid of a chartered bank in the case of a temporary liquidity problem, however only if that institution had sufficient capital to be considered viable.
Canada has a relatively small number of chartered banks compared to the United States and there is very little chance of bankruptcy at any of the biggest institutions.
Carney also stressed that tight credit conditions are not as bad in Canada as in the U.S. and the rest of the world. While the banks are having some difficulty getting financing, the cost of interbank lending is about half that in the U.S. and Europe.