Banks

Wall Street's Buy List Wed, 22/07/2009 - 00:14 by Rich Smith Actions speak louder than words, as the old saying goes. So why does the media focus so much attention on what Wall Street says about companies, instead of what it does with them? Comments Read more	3 Reasons to Sell Wells Fargo Today Tue, 21/07/2009 - 22:22 by Dave Mock A shell-shocked economy, spiraling debt at financial institutions, or just plain bad management -- on any given day, investors can name a number of reasons to sell a stock. Yet while panic never helps investors, it's still a good idea to play devil's advocate with investments. Comments Read more	The Great Bank Earnings That Really Weren't Fri, 17/07/2009 - 23:19 by Morgan Housel Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) announced surprise quarterly earnings this morning of $3.2 billion, or $0.33 per common share after stripping out preferred dividends. That's good and all -- the bank hasn't had the best of years, you know. Comments Read more
Bank of America vs. Taxpayers Wed, 15/07/2009 - 23:26 by Morgan Housel Earlier this year, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) received an additional slug of capital from taxpayers to digest its Merrill Lynch acquisition. In addition to $20 billion of TARP funds, the bank received what's called a ring-fenced asset guarantee on 90% of a $118 billion pool of assets. Comments Read more	Nothing's Changed in Banking Tue, 14/07/2009 - 23:46 by Matt Koppenheffer After a financial meltdown that left the global financial system reeling, executives in the banking sector should have taken a page out of the Talking Heads' playbook, and asked themselves questions like "How did I get here?" If they had, perhaps I wouldn't have that darn "same as it ever was" refrain running constantly through my head today. Comments Read more	Goldman Makes It Rain Tue, 14/07/2009 - 23:30 by Morgan Housel Three weeks ago, it was reported that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) was on track to pay its employees the biggest bonuses ever, corresponding with what was shaping up to be the best quarter in the investment bank's history. Comments Read more
Meet the New Citigroup Tue, 14/07/2009 - 22:45 by Morgan Housel It's been half a year since Citigroup (NYSE: C) announced plans to split itself in two, separating good assets from those that are, by most accounts, total crap. On Friday, the bank released information showing what those two siblings -- named Citicorp (the "good" bank) and Citi Holdings (the "bad" bank) -- will look like. Comments Read more	Banks set deadline for California's IOUs Fri, 10/07/2009 - 22:03 by Shruti Sharma Sacramento -- Several major U.S. banks said Friday would be the last day they would honor IOUs issued by the state of California. The Golden State, mired in a budget crisis, has been issuing interest bearing registered warrants known as IOUs to taxpayers and local governments in lieu of checks. Last week, the state mailed out 91,000 warrants worth $354 million worth, The Los Angeles Times reported. But Bank of America, Wells Fargo & Co., and other financial institutions said they were no longer willing to accept the IOUs, which carry a 3.75 percent annual interest rate and mature on Oct. 2. Wells Fargo spokeswoman Mary Trigg said the bank was "pretty reluctant to accept the warrants in the first place." Comments Read more	Small Caps, Big Risk Thu, 18/06/2009 - 03:52 by Robert Steyer Wise Fools have long known that a big company doesn't guarantee the biggest return. Check Commerce Bancshares versus Citigroup (NYSE: C), or Stifel Financial versus JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM). Comments Read more
Is the Fed the Next Citigroup? Thu, 18/06/2009 - 03:15 by Alex Dumortier "The Fed is undercapitalized in the way that [Citigroup (NYSE: C)] is undercapitalized, at least before [Citi's] magical transference of preferred to common [shares]." Comments Read more	Bank Shareholders Unite! Thu, 11/06/2009 - 04:28 by Motley Fool A couple of months ago, Congress passed a bill temporarily suspending mark-to-market accounting rules for many banks and financial institutions. The impact of the suspension was immediately seen in last quarter's earnings. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) indicated that the change added $4.4 billion worth of capital to its balance sheet, and the then-fledgling Citigroup (NYSE: C) attributed $413 million in quarterly earnings to the new policy. Comments Read more	Sell Visa. Now. Thu, 11/06/2009 - 01:21 by Morgan Housel Let me get one thing out in front: Visa (NYSE: V) is a phenomenal company. I mean really, really good. High-quality. Strong moat. Well-managed. Sturdy balance sheet. The works. It's the epitome of what you should look for in long-term investments. Comments Read more