Thoughts & Comments And Quick Takes

Anat Admati's Prescriptions for the Banking Business Won't Fix Anything

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:00:00

As long as people are writing open letters, here's ours

The Beginnings of Overreach at the CFPB

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00

Whatever happened to personal responsibility?

Charlie Gasparino's Content-Free Content

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00

It's just like a real news story, except without any real, verfiable facts.

Enough With the Proxy Advisor Kabuki

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:00:00

Splitting the CEO's and chairman's roles at JPM is a nutty idea. Why does anyone listen to governance "experts'?

More Capital Won't Solve the Problem

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:00

Recent bank-reform proposals are beside the point. Inadequate liquidity is the problem, not capital.

It's CEO-Letter Time

Tue, 30 Apr 2013 12:00:00

An often overlooked part of annual reports can sometimes tell you a lot. Our favorites so far.

The Myth of the Too-Big-Too-Fail Subsidy

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:00:00

It should show up as a lower cost of funds for the big banks--but does not

Ed Crutchfield a Visionary? Are You Kidding?

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 12:00:00

The people in Charlotte have had a little too much Kool-Aid

$300 Each To Defaulted Borrowers? What For?

Wed, 10 Apr 2013 12:00:00

The payouts on the robo-signing settlement make no sense

The Fired-CEO Severance Scam--E-Trade Edition

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 12:00:00

Executives who get canned don't deserve extra cash. Why do companies pay it?

The Fed's Bogus Stress "Tests"

Fri, 22 Mar 2013 12:00:00

These aren't objective assessments. They're something else, and very unhelpful.

Two Cheers for First Niagara

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00

The board did the right thing in tossing out its CEO. Now it needs to find a worthwhile replacement. Here are three suggestions.

Predatory Lending Didn't Cause the Credit Crunch

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 12:00:00

And so what if it had? Let consumers act like growups.

Right Man, Right Spot, Right Time

Fri, 22 Feb 2013 12:00:00

An analyst's criticism of Citigroup's chairman is way off the mark

Elizabeth Warren's Preposterous Grandstanding

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 12:00:00

The woman sure knows how to badger

Let's Hear It For The Big Banks

Fri, 15 Feb 2013 12:00:00

George Will's call for a breakup is 100% wrong

Plenty of Blame to Go Around.

Tue, 12 Feb 2013 12:00:00

Why are the feds just picking on the rating agencies?

The Government's Nutty Suit Against S&P

Thu, 07 Feb 2013 12:00:00

The agency didn't commit fraud. It committed stupidity.

One of Our Favorite Stocks is Bank of America. We're Not Kidding.

Thu, 24 Jan 2013 12:00:00

Shareholders stand to gain as the company barrels its way back to mediocrity

It's the 2012 Bankstocks Awards!

Fri, 04 Jan 2013 12:00:00

Last year's highs and lows in the financial services industry

At KBW, One Last Disgrace

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 12:00:00

The company negotiates a better deal--for its top executives

Bankstocks.com Saves The World!

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:00:00

How to fix the budget deficit

This Is No Way To Cut The Deficit

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 12:00:00

A bipartisan proposal on Bloomberg wouldn't fix anything

Tarullo Freelances

Tue, 16 Oct 2012 12:00:00

He thinks limits should be imposed on banks' size. But what does the Fed as a whole have to say?

The Durbin Amendment--One Year Later

Mon, 01 Oct 2012 12:00:00

It's plain old price-fixing--and consumers haven't benefited a bit

CALIF. BORROWER ANGLES FOR FORECLOSURE HAT TRICK

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:00:00

It seems like old times ($): “I think now is the perfect time to actually buy a home,” said Donald Crabb, a 50-year-old longshoreman from Fontana

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 12:00:00

“The bill is so anti-American as to have one think it was being written by

LIZ WARREN'S $22 MINIMUM WAGE ISN'T JUST A BAD IDEA, IT'S A TERRIBLE IDEA

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:00:00

I see that Elizabeth Warren seems to think the minimum wage should be tied to productivity growth and that, if it had been back in 1960 or so, the rate would

NYT: JPM BOARD NOT HAPPY WITH HOW JAMIE HANDLED LONDON WHALE. DUH.

Mon, 18 Mar 2013 12:00:00

DealBook thinks it sees the beginnings of a boardroom revolt at JPMorgan: [A] small fraction of the 11-member board is unhappy with Mr. Dimon, according to the people briefed on the board’s thinking. Those

WASHINGTON HAS-BEENS RECOMMEND WINDING DOWN GSES AND REPLACING THEM WITH GUARANTEE PROGRAM. GOOD IDEA.

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:00:00

Something called the Bipartisan Policy Center—basically a bunch of ex-Senators—has issued a report on what the government should do about

SOME INDUSTRIES REALLY ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:00:00

This seems wrong-headed in a very basic way: . . . There is a pervasive myth that banks are different -- special, somehow -- from all other companies and industries in the economy. Anyone

YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK: SUBPRIME-LENDING DIVISION

Mon, 04 Feb 2013 12:00:00

Reminder: subprime mortgage lending is alive and well, thanks to the federal government: According to Pinto, the FHA charges the same premium for all borrowers regardless of credit score. That allows the agency to use

IT SURE DIDN'T SEEM LIKE THEY WERE GETTING OFF EASY AT THE TIME

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 12:00:00

Writing in The Atlantic, the highly overrated Mohamed El-Erian warns that banks aren’t out of the woods yet: [T]here is the even trickier

PEOPLE ARE FORMING HOUSEHOLDS AGAIN. GOOD.

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 12:00:00

More good news for the housing market. The rate of household formation is back to its old self: Household growth averaged about 500,000 per year from 2008 through 2010 - less than half the rate seen at the height of the housing boom in the

BAY AREA HOMEBUYERS SUDDENLY ACTING LIKE HOUSING BUST NEVER HAPPENED

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:00:00

Speaking of housing, the Bay Area market sure is bouncing back nicely. The Bay Area's housing market posted strong gains in December, capping off a year of sharp improvement in that region's

THE CFPB'S ABILITY-TO-PAY RULE IS EVEN MORE USELESS THAN YOU THOUGHT

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 12:00:00

Despite the housing crackup and everything that followed from it, the federal government just can’t bring itself to stop pushing homeownership for subprime

THAT DIDN'T TAKE LONG. INCOMING TREASURY SECRETARY ALREADY A GOP NON-FAVORITE.

Mon, 14 Jan 2013 12:00:00

John Boehner is apparently no Jack Lew fan, says Rober Samuelson: Lew once had a reputation as a technocrat who bridged partisan differences. But this image has faded as he's risen to positions

AND THAT'S EVEN WITHOUT A SINGLE MENTION OF AYN RAND

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:00:00

Golly. The Weekly Standard sure does like John Allison’s book. . . .

TO ABSOLUTELY NO ONE'S SURPRISE, SMALL-BANK M&A STARTS TO STIR IN EARNEST

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:00:00

In Minnesota, this cycle’s dynamic of bank M&A is emerging right on schedule:

IT'S OFFICIAL: GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT IN G.M. IS A STINKER

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:00:00

Let me get this straight: the government forces the big banks to take TARP infusions they neither want nor need, makes money on the deal, and the banking industry

HOMEBUILDERS REBOUNDING, BUT COULD USE A LITTLE HELP FROM THE BANKS

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 12:00:00

Builder confidence hits its highest level in more than six years, says the National Association of Homebuilders. But the things could be

"COUNTERPRODUCTIVE" DOESN'T BEGIN TO DESCRIBE WHAT THE FED IS UP TO

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:00

Andy Kessler has had it up to here with the Fed’s zero-interest-rate policy: If interest rates are zero, you might as well stuff hundred dollar (or euro) bills in your mattress. Why risk giving it to banks

HE HAD EVERYTHING SO UNDER CONTROL WHEN HE RAN THE NEW YORK FED, AFTER ALL

Mon, 17 Dec 2012 12:00:00

Heaven help us all. Tim Geithner is the early favorite to replace Ben Bernanke.

ALSO WEIRD BUT TRUE: CONGRESS ACTUALLY DOES RIGHT THING

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:00:00

TAG is dead at last. Good!

WEIRD BUT TRUE: ALARMISM ON CALIF HOUSING MARKET ALREADY TAKING HOLD

Fri, 14 Dec 2012 12:00:00

California home prices are up 19% year-on-year and—I kid you not—at least one person is already worried about a new bubble inflating there.

CALL IT THE MIRACLE OF COMPOUND INTEREST IN REVERSE

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 12:00:00

I’m not sure I follow Bruce Bartlett’s logic when he says that the G.A.O’s forecast of Medicare spending rising to 5.9% of GDP in 2040, compared

SURPRISE! ONE MORE INSOLVENT GOVERNMENT HOUSING AGENCY FOR TAXPAYERS TO BAIL OUT

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:00:00

At The Atlantic, Edward J. Pinto points out the open secret that the FHA is all set to go the way of Fannie and Freddie: The housing crisis supposedly chastened the complex, but a close look at the FHA's figures show that it's still following this tragic

AND SO THE CYCLE TURNS

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:00:00

Words I never thought I’d be reading anytime soon: “Miami is probably the hottest

FINALLY, SOMETHING TO LIKE ABOUT DODD-FRANK

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:00:00

Here’s at least one good thing about Dodd-Frank: it provides an opportunity for us

BERNANKE, IN ATLANTA, BELABORS THE OBVIOUS

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 12:00:00

He’s talking to the wrong crowd: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that banks' overly tight lending standards may be holding back the U.S. economy