False Sense Of Security

The Curious Case Of The Bulgarian Bank Runs

"Because of the extent of the fraud, BNB say that nationalizing CorpBank is not an option – it describes it as 'a bottomless barrel'. The Bulgarian Finance Ministry estimates that the cost of the deposit guarantee will raise the public deficit from 1.8% of gdp to 3%, putting it at the Maastricht treaty limit. This will be seen as a considerable disappointment in Brussels, which in the recent European Semester report advised the Bulgarian government not to allow the deficit to rise any further. And it raises considerable questions about the capability of the BNB to supervise banks effectively. Only a month ago CorpBank was given a clean bill of health. Now it is bankrupt because of a major fraud." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Curious Case Of The Bulgarian Bank Runs

Bailout Banks Made Riskier Loans: Study [2011]

"The government bailout made banks appear safer but actually caused them to take on more credit risk, according to a University of Michigan study released Wednesday. According to a working paper by finance professors Ran Duchin and Denis Sosyura of the university of Michigan's Ross School of Business entitled Safer Ratios, Riskier Portfolios: Banks' Response to Government Aid, banks participating in the government's Capital Purchase Program as part of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP, 'significantly increased their investments in risky securities,' by 10%, 'displacing safer assets, such as Treasury bonds, short-term paper, and cash equivalents.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBailout Banks Made Riskier Loans: Study [2011]

Cyprus lifts almost all domestic capital controls

"Cyprus has reached another milestone in getting rid of capital controls it put in place after being bailed out last year, saying all domestic controls have been lifted except the opening of new bank accounts. The Finance Ministry said in a statement Friday that a prohibition on cashing checks as well as caps on domestic transactions and payments that don't require central bank vetting have now been removed. However, restrictions on unfettered money transfers abroad remain in place. Authorities said they hope to lift them by year's end. Authorities imposed restrictions to prevent a run after international creditors last year forced the seizure of uninsured deposits in its two largest lenders." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCyprus lifts almost all domestic capital controls

How rumor sparked panic and three-day bank run in Chinese city

"The rumor spread quickly. A small rural lender in eastern China had turned down a customer's request to withdraw 200,000 yuan ($32,200). Bankers and local officials say it never happened, but true or not the rumor was all it took to spark a run on a bank as the story passed quickly from person to person, among depositors, bystanders and even bank employees. Savers feared the bank in Yancheng, a city in Sheyang county, had run out of money and soon hundreds of customers had rushed to its doors demanding the withdrawal of their money despite assurances from regulators and the central bank that their money was safe." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHow rumor sparked panic and three-day bank run in Chinese city

Texas Tells Company to Stop Investments Using Bitcoin

"Texas regulators ordered an energy company to stop accepting Bitcoin for investments in oil and natural-gas wells, the first action of its kind by a state securities commissioner. Balanced Energy LLC, in the Dallas suburb of Southlake, was directed to stop selling unregistered securities using the digital currency, Texas Securities Commissioner John Morgan said yesterday in a statement. The order reflects concern that investors using Bitcoin might not get their money back, said Bob Webster, a spokesman for the Washington-based North American Securities Administrators Association. Webster described the order as the first of its kind." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTexas Tells Company to Stop Investments Using Bitcoin

Get Ready for Confiscation

"Once it has sunk in that such a move is perfectly acceptable in Europe, the US will declare its own bail-in policy. Those who still cling to some hope that there may be some good news here, may say, 'Well, at least if I have less than €100,000 on deposit, I can still call that my own.' These folks will be the same ones who are relieved that they are likely to be left out of a 'one-time' wealth tax that is currently being floated as another solution to the exorbitant operating costs of governments. However, any government that steals your money once is likely to have another go at a later date. And another and another. Once they are accepted at all—for any reason—governments tend to repeat them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Confiscation

Get Ready for Confiscation

"Once it has sunk in that such a move is perfectly acceptable in Europe, the US will declare its own bail-in policy. Those who still cling to some hope that there may be some good news here, may say, 'Well, at least if I have less than €100,000 on deposit, I can still call that my own.' These folks will be the same ones who are relieved that they are likely to be left out of a 'one-time' wealth tax that is currently being floated as another solution to the exorbitant operating costs of governments. However, any government that steals your money once is likely to have another go at a later date. And another and another. Once they are accepted at all—for any reason—governments tend to repeat them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGet Ready for Confiscation

Saving Europe’s banks: EU gets landmark deal

"Europe has agreed the core elements of a banking union that mark the most significant pooling of national power since the birth of the euro. European Union leaders meeting in Brussels Thursday will sign off a compromise deal hammered out overnight by their finance ministers after months of difficult negotiations. It will then go to European lawmakers for final approval before May 2014. The banking union is central to the eurozone's response to future financial crises. The aim is to stop bank collapses from trashing national economies -- a fate Ireland suffered in 2010 -- and destabilizing the euro." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSaving Europe’s banks: EU gets landmark deal

Report Suggests NSA Engaged In Bank Account Manipulation

"Governments should not use their offensive cyber capabilities to change the amounts held in financial accounts or otherwise manipulate the financial system.' While there have been plenty of reports about the US running hundreds of offensive cyberattacks on others, outside of things like Stuxnet, not many have been directly identified. And I'm unaware of any claims suggesting attempts to 'manipulate the financial system' of any particular country and/or to 'change the amounts held in financial accounts.' It seems a bit odd to come out of the blue like that, and certainly suggests that this particular bullet point likely came as a result of a rather specific thing that came up during the task force's review. " Continue reading →

Continue ReadingReport Suggests NSA Engaged In Bank Account Manipulation

Cognitive Dissonance of Ben Bernanke?

"The aggrandizement of 'leaders' who preside over massive price-fixing facilities such as central banks and legislatures ought to be identified as the hype that it is. There is no possible way that even the most sophisticated analysis of previous indicators can yield up legitimate and accurate projections. Those internationalists who have constructed the current system know that. Hence, the almost obsessive concentration on academic degrees and 'expert' appellations. The idea is to fool people into believing the 'best-of-the-best' have 'expert' powers that allow them to peer into the future using the indicators at hand. But they can't any more than you can." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCognitive Dissonance of Ben Bernanke?