The last straw with these M-F'ing banks!

[kentuck]

No! Not one more penny to these robber barons until they open up their books and account for every penny. No more "trust me, I'm a banker" bullshit! We cannot afford to surrender everything to the big banks. Some may have to fail. Especially the big investment banks that got us into this dilemma of a mess.

I want to hear the spineless Congress tell them point blank that they will not get another penny from the taxpayers of this country until they open up their books and show us every penny that is on their balance sheet. Reagan said "trust, but verify". And that is exactly what we must do with these banks. We have no choice but to nationalize them, if they are worth having? Otherwise, there is no choice but to let them sink.
======================

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/business/economy/13insolvent.html?_r=1&hp

<snip>
Absent that, the prescription would not be easy or cheap. Estimates of the capital injection needed in the United States range to $1 trillion and beyond. By contrast, the commitment of taxpayer money is the $350 billion remaining in the financial bailout approved by Congress last fall.

Meanwhile, the loss estimates keep mounting.

Nouriel Roubini, a professor of economics at the Stern School of Business at New York University, has been both pessimistic and prescient about the gathering credit problems. In a new report, Mr. Roubini estimates that total losses on loans by American financial firms and the fall in the market value of the assets they hold will reach $3.6 trillion, up from his previous estimate of $2 trillion.

Of the total, he calculates that American banks face half that risk, or $1.8 trillion, with the rest borne by other financial institutions in the United States and abroad.

“The United States banking system is effectively insolvent,” Mr. Roubini said.

For its part, the banking industry bridles at such broad-brush analysis. The industry defines solvency bank by bank, and uses the value of a bank’s assets as they are carried on its books rather than the market prices calculated by economists.

“Our analysis shows that the banks have varying degrees of solvency and does not reveal that any institution is insolvent,” said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, a trade group whose members include the largest banks.

...more

[Blaze Diem]

1. My sentiments also. K & R

Thanks for posting this.
Liars & thieves.

[leftstreet]

2. Nationalize them

[jpak]

10. Seconded

:thumbsup:

[kentuck]

11. I believe this is a majority opinion?

No one has given an acceptable alternative.

[On the Road]

3. If Your Checking Account is Overdrawn

and someone loans you $500 at 6% to bring your balance over zero, they have done something similar to what the government did with the first wave of TARP assets.

If you then continue to spend money as usual, the question may arise what happened to the $500. If you go to a restaurant, you might be accused of using the money for restaurant meals. You can't account for $500 in specific terms because it isn't in a particular place, it's commingled with the rest of your money.

Banks have not changed their normal practices nearly enough. Executive salaries are still too high. Dividends are probably not a good idea if the banks are in the shape most people are claiming.

That is not the same as saying that the banks have taken free money, stashed it somewhere, and used it for frivolous purposes. It is also why I fell that many of the charges leveled against banks are either being made in bad faith or not explained clearly.

It's important to get this right because different answers require different approaches. If the problem is derivatives, cutting salaries may not be the answer. If the problem is confidence, eliminating off-balance-sheer items becomes more important as well as establishing market prices for mortgage-backed assets so everyone knows the true financial picture.

I don't know if the bad bank is a good idea. It worked in the early 90s and at other times. Setting a transaction price is difficult. Getting the prices wrong could either mean the banks go under or the taxpayers lose hundreds of billions.

[kentuck]

4. They are arrogant bastards...

Acting as if they are the only folks on earth that have the capacity to understand the nature of the problem. And they are not happy with salaries of "only" $500K per year. Well, they can kiss my ass! They ran their banks into the ground and threatened the survival of our country and they want rewarded?? Go to hell, you motherfuckers!!

[izquierdista]

6. Somewhere in between

I can see where On The Road has a point, but Kentuck's anger is quite justified. I say we sit the bankers down and have a nice, sane, unemotional discussion with them on how they can change their practices and get the whole thing back to order -- after we tar and feather them.

[The Brethren]

5. "Getting the prices wrong

wrong could either mean the banks go under or the taxpayers lose hundreds of billions." Unfort. both are happening right now. But I'm very glad you have pointed how important it is to carefully analysis the situation in order to make the best decisions. Too bad you're not in politics. :-)


Stimulus Plan ("American Recovery and Reinvestment Act") full text: Orig. House version -- http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/RecoveryBill01-15-09.pdf Senate version -- http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_02_02_The_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act_of_2009.pdf Spreadsheet of Senate compromise -- http://appropriations.senate.gov/News/2009_02_08_UPDATED_Appropriations_Provisions_of_American_Recovery_and_Reinvestment_Act.pdf?CFID=4043629&CFTOKEN=40573040 Text of Senate compromise version of fiscal stimulus legislation -- http://readthestimulus.org/amdth1.pdf

[radfringe]

7. so you're walking down the street

a guy asks you for a couple of bucks for food. You give it to him and then watch him run into a liquor store and buy a bottle of booze.

Would you give him more money?

If no, then why are we giving all this money to the economic elitists so they can piss it away on bonuses, jets, super bowl parties and jaunts to las vegas or the bahamas?

[Wednesdays]

8. Well, in the wino's case, you're feeding an addiction

By contrast, with the banks...

Oh, wait...never mind.

[DCKit]

9. That's why I always offer to buy them a hamburger instead...

Funny how many of them aren't hungry. We've got to do the same with the bankers - keep the $$$ out of their hands. "Trickle-Up" is the only way to do this - help the people who are losing their homes and jobs so they can continue to pay their bills.

As an added bonus, the Republics will all go foaming-at-the-mouth crazy, and we can get them some help for their various mental issues. In the meantime, due to a shortage of Republic talking heads, the Dems will stand a chance of gaining some representation in the MSM.

On the other hand, if a Republican goes crazy in Washington, would anyone know the difference?