-
Regulator Dismisses Congressman's Allegations
Tweet Share on Facebook October 28, 2008 Comment (5)A day after his ties to PNC Financial Services Group were called into question by a Republican lawmaker, Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan released the following letter.
In it, the bank regulator calls Ohio Republican Rep. Steve LaTourette's suggestion that his decisions regarding PNC's recently announced plan to acquire National City Corp were influenced by his past dealings with the Pittsburgh bank "baseless."
-
LaTourette's Letter to Paulson on PNC-Nat City
Tweet Share on Facebook October 28, 2008 Comment (4)Here's the letter that Rep. Steve LaTourette, an Ohio Republican, fired off to Henry Paulson yesterday. In it, the congressman asks the treasury secretary to launch an immediate investigation into PNC's recently announced deal to acquire National City Corp.
-
Home Prices Fall Further in August
Tweet Share on Facebook October 28, 2008 CommentThe S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes, which were released Tuesday, showed that home prices continued their painful declines in August. The 20-City Composite Index recorded an annual decline of nearly 17 percent.
From the report:
Nine of the 20 regions have record annual declines. Phoenix and Las Vegas are now returning -30.7% and -30.6% versus August 2007, respectively. Each of the California markets--Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Diego—are down more than 25% from their values 12 months ago. Miami and Tampa, the two Florida markets, are down 28.1% and 18.1%, respectively.
-
Congressman Wants PNC-Nat. City Deal Investigated
Tweet Share on Facebook October 27, 2008 Comment (47)Rep. Steven C. LaTourette of Ohio has asked Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to launch an immediate investigation into PNC Financial Services's acquisition of National City, which was announced last week.
LaTourette, a Republican who represents the greater Cleveland area—where National City is headquartered—said in a letter to Paulson that he fears Comptroller of the Currency John Dugan may have steered $7.7 billion in bailout funds to PNC, which was a client of his when he worked in the private sector.
-
16 Regional Banks Getting Treasury Bailout Cash
Tweet Share on Facebook October 27, 2008 Comment (2)Here's a look at the regional banks in line to get capital infusions from Treasury under its plan to buy equity in U.S. financial institutions.
Company Capital 1. PNC $7.7 billion 2. Capital One $3.55 billion 3. SunTrust $3.5 billion 3. Regions $3.5 billion 5. Fifth Third $3.4 billion 6. BB&T $3.1 billion 7. KeyCorp. $2.5 billion 8. Comerica Inc $2.25 billion 9. Northern Trust $1.5 billion 10. Huntington $1.4 billion 11. First Horizon $866 million 12. City National (CA) $395 million 13. Valley National (NJ) $330 million 14. United Commercial (CA) $298 million 15. Washington Federal (WA) $200 million 16. First Niagara (NY) $186 million -
Will JPMorgan Lend Its Bailout Cash? Perhaps Not
Tweet Share on Facebook October 27, 2008 Comment (12)The question everyone is asking about Treasury's plan to put $250 billion into U.S. financial institutions is this: Are these newly capitalized banks going to lend out this cash to the companies that badly need it—or just hoard it to protect themselves?
In a fascinating piece Friday, New York Times columnist Joe Nocera says that although Hank Paulson has been urging banks to turn these new funds into fresh loans, banks appear likely to sit on the cash. "The dirty little secret of the banking industry is that it has no intention of using the money to make new loans," Nocera writes.
-
Bailout Merger No. 1: PNC and National City
Tweet Share on Facebook October 24, 2008 Comment (26)The big question about the $250 billion that the treasury plans to inject into banks is just what those institutions will do with the funds.
Hank Paulson has been urging the industry to lend it out—rather than simply hoard it to protect against future losses. But the treasury secretary certainly hasn't been discouraging healthy banks from using it to gobble up weaker players.
-
Home Sales Jump: 3 Reasons You Shouldn't
Tweet Share on Facebook October 24, 2008 Comment (9)The National Association of Realtors' existing home sales report for September came in much stronger than expected today, with sales hitting their highest levels in more than a year.
Some highlights from the report:
Existing-home sales—including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops—rose 5.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million units in September from a level of 4.91 million in August, and are 1.4 percent higher than the 5.11 million-unit pace in September 2007...
-
FDIC: Use IndyMac Model to Prevent Foreclosures
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2008 Comment (16)The federal government;s response to the financial crisis has been criticized as focusing too much on helping out banks while neglecting the troubled borrowers facing foreclosure.
Speaking Thursday before the Senate Banking Committee, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair outlined a new approach to tackling this painful epidemic:
From Bair's prepared testimony:
The EESA, recently passed by Congress, includes a number of provisions to encourage loan modifications. In particular, EESA addresses the issue of foreclosure mitigation and provides authority that could hold significant promise for future loan modifications. The statute grants authority to the Secretary of the Treasury to use loan guarantees and credit enhancements to facilitate loan modifications to prevent avoidable foreclosures.
-
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Charlie Rose
Tweet Share on Facebook October 23, 2008 Comment (2)Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson recently appeared on the Charlie Rose show to chat about the financial crisis and the government's response to it.
