RSS Feed
Twitter
Facebook
Email
HomeMortgage Settlement Pisses Into the Wind
Posted by Larry Doyle on February 12th, 2012 5:34 PM |
In a nation now all too familiar with a “too big to fail” banking system, a heavily manipulated and high frequency dominated equity market, and an incestuous financial regulatory system, we should not be surprised with a mortgage settlement that does little more than ‘piss into the wind’.
Pardon my cynicism, but one does not need to look too deeply into the recently announced mortgage settlement to understand there is little in the way of meaningful justice embedded in this contrivance. (more…)
“I Just Can’t Trust Them…”
Posted by Larry Doyle on January 20th, 2011 7:06 AM |
Screw me once, shame on you!! Screw me twice, ….
You know how that works. Yes, indeed, we do know how that works. In fact, Americans know all too well that they were badly screwed by many within the financial industry. In the spirit of fairness, there were also many consumers who screwed the system by knowingly falsifying info on mortgages and loans. From both ends, the biggest loser over the course of the last decade has been our virtues of truth, transparency, and integrity. Rest assured, though, that pursuit goes on and it is having ripple effects across Wall Street specifically and the financial industry as a whole.
I see clear evidence of this dynamic in a recent commentary at The Center for Public Integrity. Why are banks very concerned and scrambling to protect their franchise value? (more…)
Which U.S. Bank Will Wikileaks Expose?
Posted by Larry Doyle on November 30th, 2010 6:28 AM |
Truth, transparency, and integrity.
If I had a nickel for each and every time I wrote those prized virtues here at Sense on Cents, I would have a lot of nickels. I not only espouse these principles in my writing. I strongly believe that the pursuit of these virtues is the foundation for real economic success, if not life itself.
While each of these principles may be defined differently depending on one’s perspective, in terms of transparency, most people would be able to say, “Well, I’d know it if I saw it.” The world is now beginning to see a lot more transparency and accompanying material. How so? Wikileaks. Who is Wikileaks and what are they getting ready to release? (more…)
The World of Wall Street CDOs or “Don’t Lie to Me”
Posted by Larry Doyle on May 13th, 2010 2:18 PM |
News that the SEC and federal prosecutors are further investigating Wall Street firms involved in the structuring and distribution of CDOs (collateralized debt obligations) is not a surprise. Although Goldman Sachs has been targeted initially for its marketing of an Abacus transaction in conjunction with Paulson and Co., the simple fact is Goldman was not anywhere close to the largest player in this space. Who was? Well, I should more appropriately ask, “Who wasn’t?” All of Wall Street jumped on the CDO gravy train. (more…)
New York Fed and Treasury Tell Banks to Hold Cash
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 10th, 2010 2:36 PM |
How often have Americans heard politicians screaming at banks for not providing credit? How often have those same politicians and bank regulators informed us that they are working to have banks inject money into the economy to support Main Street?
Regrettably, America deals with this pandering and posturing from our political leaders and regulators all too often. While Americans are being told one thing, what are the regulators telling the banks? Hold cash.
I am not shocked, but certainly disappointed, that American financial periodicals failed to run this story detailing these recommendations from our bank regulators. The London based Financial Times highlights this bombshell in writing, Regulators Tell U.S. Banks to Hold Funds: >>>> (more…)
Lower Book Value of Banks Highly Correlates with Smoke and Mirrors
Posted by Larry Doyle on March 10th, 2010 11:05 AM |
Why do some banks seem to trade at cheap, if not depressed, levels?
Investors do not trust the valuations of the assets on the books of these banks. I highlighted this very point the other day in writing, “Where is Wall Street Hiding Hundred Plus Billion in Lo$$es?”
A recently released report from the American Banker addresses this point of questionable asset valuations, or what I define as ‘smoke and mirrors’. (more…)
