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NEWS ABOUT: banking

Thatcher's 'Big Bang' Free-for-All Led to Bust

Pioneers of British '80s deregulation dismayed at unforeseen 'side effects'

(Newser) - The British regulatory reforms that changed the face of the financial industry in the '80s allowed banks to become bloated giants, two architects of the so-called "Big Bang" changes tell the Wall Street Journal. The deregulation let London's financial sector flourish, the men say, but also allowed banks to... More »

Some Banks Want to Bail on Bailout

Critics charge growing list of conditions will damage industry

(Newser) - A growing number of banks are seeking to return or avoid government bailout funds because of the lengthening list of conditions attached to the money, the New York Times reports. Critics say the terms—including modification of mortgages and caps on executive pay—smack of economic engineering. Bankers are especially... More »

Dodd Moves to Lend FDIC $500B

(Newser) - Senate Banking Chairman Chris Dodd has introduced a bill to allow the FDIC to borrow up to $500 billion from the Treasury Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s the latest attempt to bolster the fund that insures consumer deposits, which has been ravaged by a string of bank... More »

Debt Collectors Fleece Relatives of the Dead

Getting bereaved to pay up one of the healthiest parts of industry

(Newser) - Bankruptcy and defaults are all the rage these days, but one group is being targeted to pay up: the dead. Entire debt collection agencies have cropped up that specialize in calling bereaved relatives and convincing them to pay the deceased’s debts, even though they have no legal obligation to... More »

Battered Merrill's Top 10 Pocketed $209M

Compensation for top execs higher than in '07, despite firm's massive losses

(Newser) - Merrill Lynch's top 10 earners raked in more than $200 million last year as their company lost $27.6 billion, a Wall Street Journal investigation finds. Eleven execs were each paid at least $10 million in cash and shares, which have now dived in value. A further 149 execs made... More »

Eye on Banks, Stocks Sink Early

Dow drops 30 points after bell

(Newser) - Stocks sank after the opening bell this morning, with traders’ eyes still on troubled banks, which face regulators’ stress tests starting today, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Dow quickly plunged 30 points; the S&P slipped 0.5% with a 2.2% drop in financials; and the Nasdaq tumbled... More »

BofA Tricks People Into Paying the Dead's Bills

Bank accused of shady practices in collecting cash from bereaved relatives

(Newser) - Bank of America has been misleading customers into believing they have to pay off the credit card bills of dead relatives, TPM reports. One customer was outraged when a bank rep tried to first trick, and then guilt-trip him into paying his dead mother's bills. A former rep for the... More »

Banks Turn Phone Into New Automated Teller

Banking via mobile device grew by 2.7M users in 2008

(Newser) - Customers worried about pinching pennies have more ways than ever to manage their finances through mobile devices, the Wall Street Journal reports. In 2008, 3.1 million people used mobile banking services, up from 400,000 in ‘07—and that number is expected to reach 7 million this year... More »

Stocks Soar on Bank Hopes

(Newser) - Stocks skyrocketed at today's open, spurred by reports that the Obama administration would likely form a “bad bank” to buy up illiquid assets. The Dow jumped 110 points, and the S&P and Nasdaq gained 1.9% and 1.8% respectively. Banking stocks led the way, with Citigroup leaping... More »

Wall Street Loses Sex Appeal as Big Guns Struggle

Talented people risk little by trying out academia, government

(Newser) - The gravitational pull of Wall Street on the nation's best and brightest students has weakened dramatically, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the New York Times, as ridiculous pay packages and the thrill of risk-taking give way to layoffs and anxiety. "The whole cult and ethos of Wall Street, which... More »

Fed Push Likely Behind Citi Breakup

Citi's brokerage sale could signal regulators' plans for 'new order' in banking industry

(Newser) - The expected sale of Citigroup's brokerage business could be the first step in a government-instigated plan to cut the financial behemoth down to a manageable size, analysts tell Marketwatch. Citibank's CEO said only last month that the group had the right business mix, and many believe his sudden about-face is... More »

How Iceland Went From Codfish to Meltdown

Country built a huge financial bubble based on a vulnerable currency

(Newser) - How did a chilly nation of cod fishermen play a key role in the world's crumbling financial markets? Seeking to avoid the boom-and-bust of fish catch, Iceland started by privatizing banks in the mid-1990s. It built a colossal banking system on a puny currency and attracted international deposits with high... More »

Ireland Buys 75% of Troubled Lender in Banks Bailout

Anglo Irish goes into taxpayers' hands after scandal

(Newser) - Ireland became the latest nation to partially nationalize struggling banks last night, buying 75% of the deeply troubled Anglo Irish Bank and bailing out others, reports the Financial Times. The bank, whose shares had already dropped 95% from bad mortgage debts, suffered a further blow last week when its CEO ... More »

Youths Flee Struggling Iceland

Ailing economy forcing mass exodus

(Newser) - Iceland faces its largest exodus in a century as job seekers flee the ailing nation, which is steeped in its worst financial crisis since independence. One survey estimates about half of Icelanders between 18 and 24 plan are thinking about leaving the country for Norway and other relatively strong economies.... More »

AmEx Cleared to Become Commercial Bank

Credit card company can now accept deposits, access emergency Fed funds

(Newser) - The Fed has given credit card giant American Express the all-clear to become a bank holding company in a bid to keep the financial crisis wolves from the door, Marketwatch reports. AmEx can now accept deposits and access the Fed's emergency lending facilities. The central bank waived the normal 30-day... More »

Just Like Mattress-Stuffers, Banks Hoard Bailout Cash

Recovery a long way off

(Newser) - Wall Street may be cheering for the bailout, but Andrew Ross Sorkin knows what the banks are really doing with our $250 billion: “They have stuffed it under their mattresses like the rest of us,” he writes in the New York Times. Consumers will find it almost as... More »

Federal Cash Is Not Welcome at Small Banks

But US will pressure some to accept it anyway

(Newser) - The government’s plan to buy $250 billion worth of bank investments was greeted with cheers on Wall Street and in Congress, but with jeers by many bankers, the Washington Post reports. “We don't need a bailout,” said one indignant small-bank chief, “and if other banks had... More »

Banking Meltdown Driving Icelanders Back to Fishing

Financial system collapse leaves nation adrift

(Newser) - The collapse of its financial system has left Iceland with little left to rely on but the sea that surrounds it, writes the Wall Street Journal. With few natural resources on land, fishing was the mainstay of Icelandic life for centuries until the nation's global banking industry rapidly expanded a... More »

Rumors Spark Wild Run on Asian Bank

Panicked thousands rush to grab savings from Bank of East Asia

(Newser) - Rumors that the Bank of East Asia was in trouble spread like wildfire through Hong Kong yesterday, causing a panicked mob to descend on the bank as thousands withdrew their life savings, the Financial Times reports. Police moved in to keep order as crowds demanded their money. BEA's tycoon chairman... More »

Young Hopefuls Hit Hard by Credit Crunch

Interns give up dream of retiring at 35 with house in Hamptons

(Newser) - The sad eyes of interns watched Wall Street's precipitous drop all week. These "lackeys," who had worked all summer at investment firms, can no longer expect to  retire at 35 with houses in the Hamptons and "a closetful of Brioni suits and Hermès ties," David... More »

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