Category Archives: Banking industry

Banks Try to Make Security Customer-Friendly. Not a Good Mix.

Retail bank security ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.

Feds Bust $3.4 Billion Crypto Theft, Demonstrating Ability to Penetrate Supposed Secrecy

One of the big selling points of crypto, privacy, is rapidly disappearing.

Trouble in Multifamily CRE: Two Big Messes, and Investors Are on the Hook, Not Banks

Data about who holds CRE loans is incomplete, but more is owned by investors than the media generally acknowledges.

That 80s Feeling: How to Get Serious About Bank Reform This Time and Why We Won’t

The author argues for the widespread use of market values when assessing bank conditions, prompt corrective action by regulators, limiting deposit insurance protection to ensure market discipline, and shifting the political equilibrium.

The Financial Crisis of 2023: Protecting Big Finance, Coming and Going

The financial system needs to provide a safe place for businesses to place their reserves and working capital.

‘The Billionaire Bailout’: FDIC Chair Says the Biggest Deposit Accounts at SVB Held $13 Billion

“The bailout really did protect billionaires from taking a modest haircut.”

FDIC Sells Much of Silicon Valley Bank to First-Citizens Bank. Total Cost of SVB Collapse to Deposit Insurance Fund: $20 Bn

Even collapsed banks have lots of assets that the FDIC sells to cover the costs to the Fund. Signature Bank collapse costs the Fund only $2.5 billion

Fed-Inflicted Bank Wobbles Persist as Investors Fret About Deutsche

Bank fundamentals do not look likely to get better any time soon, yet the Fed seems determined to make matters worse.

How Debt Dynamics Polarize Economic and Political Power

An overview from Michael Hudson’s new book, The Collapse of Antiquity, which extends his analysis of how debt creates an entrenched elite.

Crash Landing? Part 2 – The Usual Suspects

What parts of the financial system are most vulnerable to a crash?

What’s Actually Behind the Banking Crisis? Why You Pay When They Play.

Law and economics expert Walker Todd explains how a financialized system creates havoc and why it’s time to rethink banking

Crash Landing? Part 1 – Bonfire of the Banks

Satyajit Das looks at how banks got themselves into so much trouble and what the recent bailouts portend.

The Fed Accused of ‘Playing With Fire’ After Latest Rate Hike

The Fed confirms that its priority is crushing workers, and it believes it’s protected banks enough to allow it to continue.

How Monetary Policy Affects Bank Lending and Financial Stability: A ‘Credit Creation Theory of Banking’ Explanation

Another nail in “loanable funds”, which justfies austerity but does not explain how central banks produce credit and monetary growht.

How the Current Refusal to Deal Harshly with Failing Banks and Their Executives Will Create an Even Bigger Crisis

Why the expected official response to this bank panic wil make matters much worse, just not right away.