Bailout Banks Survival Guide: Rating The Top 12 Banks

MoneyMorning.com:

We listed the 12 largest U.S. banks by assets, as of Dec. 31, ignoring foreign-owned banks, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) (those last two are onetime investment banks that are technically now commercial banks, but still possess a very different business mix. We give you a rundown on the financial stability of each one, and give each institution with the single-most-appropriate of our four official Money Morning designations.

Read the whole story: MoneyMorning.com

Comments

[TJCole]

You know I have been hearing about this idea of New Banks...I heard it on Charlie Rose he was interviewing some guy from Intel or another Silicon Valley company and billionaire technology genius, it was very interesting he started talking about funding even privately funding New Banks that have no toxic waste running through their veins...

it's the idea of some economics professor I didn't catch the name and that company's such as the big Silicon Valley companies that do their own financing among others could start these banks but here's another angle there is no bank it is all a virtual online bank...

No buildings or so much other overhead an mostly all electronic of computerized with I guess ATM's so you can get cash using cards only I guess...

These banks could get lending moving as a matter of fact I would think it would be worth the government even doing some matching funding at first to get these new banks going...!

Not "Bad Banks..."New Banks.."

[jerrypl]

The top banks are zombie-insolvent-banks. There is a single gem in the bunch. They all need to be nationalized. The bankstas given orange jumpsuits, the share and bondholders given Pink Slips. The toxic debt needs to be auctioned off and NOT sold back to taxpayers through the TimmyG public-private partnership Ponzi scheme to inflate the debt asset price values, and leveraged into bull s**t securities.

The only gem banks are local and regional banks that are clean. Once the zombie banks are nationalized, the FDIC manages them, loans money out to small companies that will be in the forefront of a new industrial and manufacturing rejuvenation that will bring about a rebirth to the nation's new paradigm. Once stable, those healthy bank components can then be sold off to smaller banks that want the assets that the FDIC began to build up again.

http://eye-on-washington.blogspot.com

[balance]

The author of the article did the homework and got it basically right:
"After examining the finances of these 12 major banks, I discovered that some additional analysis was needed - some in the investment arena, and the rest in the area of public policy. Once that was completed, I was able to reach some concrete conclusions about the new banking bill.

On the public policy side, it’s very difficult to justify $1.5 trillion of public money being used to buy assets from these guys. Of 12 banks I examined:

Seven appear to be in solid shape, and are actually paying substantial dividends.
Three appear weak, with possible needs for some additional help.
And only two are actual basket cases.
Apart from the two dogs, all these banks have shown themselves perfectly capable of handling the difficult parts of their asset portfolios. That means that setting up a separate state bureaucracy to manage them, instead. is just asking for a high-cost taxpayer rip-off."

[tompoe]

Smart Americans have pulled their money out of banks, into community credit unions. What the rest have to do, is ask themselves what has their bank done for them lately? It's time the old guard financial system just disappears.

[ModeratePoliticalJunkie]

How did GS and MS become commercial banks? I always thought they were Investment Firms. Is anyone wondering how the lines got blurred between banks and investment firms?

Why are profits being privatized but losses socialized?

[newmexicogold]

Gramm-Leach-Billey repealed Glass-Steagall, a 1933 banking law that held a wall between commercial (storefront) banks and investment banks. That repeal also allowed for banks to buy insurance, real estate and brokerage houses - one stop financial services. This lobby is known as the FIRE (financial, investment and real estate).

April 1998: Citicorp and Travelers announce biggest-ever corporate merger ($70 billion); transaction technically illegal under Glass-Steagall; ceo Sandy Weill launches $12 million campaign to repeal law.

Nov 1999: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act guts Glass-Steagall, setting off wave of megamergers among banks and insurance and securities companies. Driving force is Sen. Phil Gramm (R-Texas), who has received $4.6 million from fire sector over previous decade.