BBC (April 24)
In the bank’s final quarterly results, Credit Swiss disclosed that nearly $69 billion was withdrawn by depositors during the first three months of 2023. Coming on the heels of a gaping loss in 2022 and forecast loss for 2023, the deposit withdrawal was part of the impetus behind “its forced sale to rival Swiss bank UBS.” The sale has “has angered taxpayers and shareholders of both banks, who were deprived of a vote on the takeover. Some have also argued it has damaged Switzerland’s global reputation as a financial centre.”
Tags: 2023, Banks, Credit Swiss, Damaged, Deposit, Depositors, Forecast, Loss, Quarterly results, Reputation, Shareholders, Switzerland, Takeover, Taxpayers, UBS, Withdrawn
Wall Street Journal (October 11)
The misleading “story you hear in Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt” is that “Greece’s fiscal adjustment is on track and its economy is bottoming out.…. Europe’s politicians prefer the status quo of eternal, rolling bailouts because it serves their purposes. They never have to present their taxpayers with a bill for the Greek rescue. And while Greece’s economy never really recovers, it might avoid any new crisis.” The time has come for more realistic reckoning.
Tags: Bailouts, Crisis, Economy, Europe, Greece, Greek rescue, Politicians, Recovery, Status quo, Taxpayers
The Economist (May 11, 2013)
Following the darkest days of the financial crisis, more than a few European bankers and leaders were caught gloating. It looked like the big Wall Street investment banks had been beaten. “Almost five years on it is Europe’s banks that are on their knees and Wall Street that is resurgent.” But this comeback may be a nightmare in disguise. “Indeed, it is American taxpayers and investors who should worry about the dominance of a few Wall Street firms. They bear the main risk of future bail-outs.”
Tags: Bail-outs, Europe, Investment banks, Investors, Taxpayers, U.S., Wall Street
Institutional Investor (September Issue)
Is the financial system safer “after four years of summit meetings, regulatory conclaves, landmark legislation and detailed rule-writing—all of it aimed at ensuring that the financial system would never again crash the global economy or force taxpayers to underwrite costly bailouts?” Many things appear to have changed for the better and the regulatory stance is more aggressive, yet some of the changes may be releasing new risks that could surpass anything we’ve seen before. “The answer is not simple.”
Tags: Bailout, Economy, Financial system, Regulators, Risk, Safety, Taxpayers
Los Angeles Times (September 2)
“A relentless focus on share price can hurt not only employees, taxpayers and society, but shareholders too. Managers who are pressured to raise stock price quickly often resort to tricks — selling assets, cutting payroll and investment, draining cash through dividends and share repurchase programs — to bump up stock price for a year or two. But such strategies often hurt a company’s long-term ability to grow and prosper.”
Forbes (August 6)
“Call it the best disaster and recovery Wall Street has seen in a long time. In less than a week, Knight Capital screwed up royally to the point of near failure and then managed to save itself with the help of outside investors…. If a financial institution is going to mess up then this is the way to do it—without hurting clients and without getting taxpayers involved.”
“Call it the best disaster and recovery Wall Street has seen in a long time. In less than a week, Knight Capital screwed up royally to the point of near failure and then managed to save itself with the help of outside investors…. If a financial institution is going to mess up then this is the way to do it—without hurting clients and without getting taxpayers involved.”
Tags: Clients, Investors, Knight Capital, Taxpayers, Wall Street
