Warren Buffett No Longer Trusts Banks More Than The FDIC Does

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. has told one of its subsidiaries to stop insuring bank deposits above the amount guaranteed by the federal government, dealing a fresh blow to the financial-services industry as it tries to assuage anxious customers.

The subsidiary, Kansas Bankers Surety Co., is notifying about 1,500 banks in more than 30 states that it will no longer offer a program called "bank deposit guaranty bonds." KBS is an 18-employee subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, according to the parent firm's 2007 annual report. It is one of a handful of firms that offer such insurance, a big selling point for banks trying to attract wealthy customers.

Two people briefed on the matter said the order was made Monday by Mr. Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway's chief executive. Chuck Towle, a senior vice president at KBS, declined to comment on why his firm was leaving the business. "We have decided to do so," he said. "We'll work with each individual bank and work it out with them."

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Related:

::The Huffington Post's banking crisis big news page

Comments

[Chavez08]

Am I not allowed to respond back?

[Chavez08]

Again, - has anyone here actually READ Marx or do we just mock his ideas to be liked by the kids in the varsity jackets?

[drkazmd65]

Read Marx years ago Chavez08 - his book seemed (to me) to ramble on a bit at times, but the points are clear for those that bothered to read it.

But,... I have always thought that the 'kids in the varsity jackets' were morons and sheep. So in that regard I am a few standard deviations from the population mean.

*science nerd to the core*

[Chavez08]

Where I'm directing the question is to those who praise Republican economics while, ironically, labelling their critics "Communists"

There is no intellectual dialogue in this country, just intellectual dishonesty targeting those too lazy to research themselves. The masses are lead by celebrities and blow-hard radio personalities. Americans are more and more lacking sign of critical thought even in the most important election cycle in 80 years.

[Henry]

Chavez,
Why yes, I read the capital and the manifesto. I see nothing, nada, nix, nyet offered by the man which states anything relevant to these times. The landlord accumulates capital on the way up, the landlord is gutted from capital on the way down. And so? Please enlighten us with your insight, if you have any?

[Chavez08]

Henry,

Did you forget that there are a dozen and a 1/2 other chapters in the book or are you throwing the Fox News/Straussian 2-cents in in the hope that no one will take your word (implied analysis) instead of reading it themselves?

[ibsteve2u]

Ruh roh.

[WIpatriot]

*chortle*