MetaFilter posts tagged with bank

Banks are too big to fail (at social media)

subpixel — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 18:33:19 -0800

A software engineer blogs about the inept and insecure way in which a bank asks customers to file a claim when they're the victim of fraudulent transactions. Dozens of customers chime in with similar experiences, over the course of months. The bank in question contributes nothing to the conversation, and the system remains both insecure and broken today [that last link is probably blocked by your browser or operating system, but don't worry - the form on the page doesn't work anyway].

Bank Notes - a collection of bank robbery notes

nthdegx — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 03:43:20 -0800

Bank Notes - a collection of bank robbery notes, successful and otherwise.

From Switzerland With No Love

DreamerFi — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 08:38:58 -0800

Swiss private bank Wegelin says goodbye and good riddance to America. Swiss private bank Wegelin announced two weeks ago that it is to stop doing business in the United States. The St Gallen-based bank, Switzerland's oldest, said the decision had been taken in response to stricter measures introduced in the US against tax dodgers and planned changes to estate tax, which would make some non-US citizens liable to tax if they inherited US securities. In a letter to investors it said Swiss banks were likely to find themselves in an untenable position, as they would be expected to know which clients were liable to pay US tax – "an impossible undertaking", given the lack of clear definitions in the matter.

where it's 1973 forever

shockingbluamp — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 16:45:49 -0800

That's it. I am moving my all my money to Oakwood! The tiny town north of Houston has just three employees and not a single computer. It has no voice mail and no ATMs. This is the smallest bank in the USA. Still going strong.

Would you like to buy a bank?

jourman2 — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:47:37 -0800

Failed bank takeovers by the FDIC continue to increase at an alarming rate in 2009 (7 this past thursday, 52 so far in 2009) Here's an interview with a bank CEO who bought a failed bank for some insider info into how the process of buying failed banks works (this is the bank he bought). Via calculated risk. Previously

BankTracker

A dead Quaker — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:07:23 -0800

Curious about the health of your bank? You might find BankTracker helpful. This site crunches the FDIC's publicly available numbers on banks' deposits, loans, and nonperforming loans, and makes them available in a search interface for banks and credit unions. Also interesting are the blog posts. From one of the most recent: Total troubled assets – the sum of loans more than 90 days past due and the value of foreclosed property banks on bank books – increased to $285 billion at the end of March, up from $237 billion at the end of 2008. At the end of March 2008, the banks only had $137 billion in nonperforming loans and foreclosed property on their books. The combination of lower profits and more bad loans meant that more banks saw their capital under growing stress. As of March 31, 238 banks had more troubled assets on their books than they had in capital and loan loss reserves. At the end of December 2008, 165 banks had a “troubled asset ratio” of greater than 100 percent. Only 44 banks fell into that category a year ago.

Accidental movement of large sums of money to the wrong people.

johannahdeschanel — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:08:22 -0800

Couple flee after bank mistakenly gives them 10m $

ATM card skimmer removed and examined

thewalrus — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 02:48:18 -0800

In the Netherlands somebody has removed an ATM card skimmer and examined it in detail. This site is in Dutch only, but appears to show high resolution photos of an ATM card skimmer with integrated PIN-capturing video camera.

"Most every Friday, now, the FDIC seizes several banks"

jourman2 — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 20:39:32 -0800

60 minutes goes along with the FDIC to take over a bank. Via calculated risk. Also - related post recently that discusses the FDIC's reserve fund.

For those of us who didn't take Econ in school.

zardoz — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 15:39:39 -0800

Confused about the banking crisis? Confused by banks in general? This American Life's latest show Bad Bank (streaming, mp3) is a highly informative (and entertaining) overview of how banks work, and what problems they--and we all--face in this current crisis. Produced by another great NPR show, Planet Money.

Treasury paid $100 for every $66 in assets in top-ten TARP deals

shivohum — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:40:02 -0800

The Congressional Oversight Panel, headed by Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren, notes in its third monthly report that for every $100 Treasury spent on its ten largest TARP deals, it received back only $66 worth of assets -- significantly less than for roughly comparable private parties.

That cost how much?

jourman2 — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 12:44:20 -0800

The True cost of credit. Via

iBank

leotrotsky — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 07:38:13 -0800

iBank? 25 billion in cash and short-term securities. No long-term debt. Why Apple should get into the banking sector, pronto.

How's YOUR bank?

St. Alia of the Bunnies — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:42:39 -0800

Wonder how your bank is doing these days? Here's how to interpret the data.

Blow-by-blow of Wachovia's Demise

SeizeTheDay — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:48:14 -0800

A blow-by-blow analysis of Wachovia's demise, as told by the bank's local paper, The Charlotte Observer.

You're paying me what now?

jourman2 — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 08:19:55 -0800

Credit Suisse is the first bank to use commercial debt to pay employee bonuses this year. Another take on bonuses this year

What to do with cities like Flint?

billysumday — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 07:40:07 -0800

Politicians and citizens alike are struggling with the decision to bail out the under-performing American automakers. But what will happen to the cities and towns of the Midwest if the automakers fail? Flint, Michigan provides an interesting template. In the 1960s and 70s, Flint had a population of 200,000 and was home to some 80,000 autoworkers. Today, after many plant closures, relocations, and worker buyouts, only 8,000 autoworkers remain. So, what are we to do with cities like Flint? There have been lots of ideas, like demolishing dilapidated houses, renovating brownfield sites like Chevy-in-the-Hole [pdf], downtown business renovation, and increasing community participation by giving ownership of vacant lots to local homeowners. Some progress has been made through the efforts of the Genesee County Land Bank, an organization that, "provides six services: demolition, foreclosure prevention, rental management, housing renovation, property maintenance and a side lot program, through which empty lots are sold to adjacent homeowners. It also has developed a Web site to provide quick access to real estate listings and maps, and to allow visitors to communicate with staff through e-mail." However, not everybody likes what the Land Bank is doing in Flint, including its mayor, who threatened to sue the organization for, "driving the price of real estate down dramatically. They're creating places for rats and prostitutes." The central question for those interested in the future of Flint seems to be best posed by the authors of the Chevy-in-the-Hole proposal: should developers try to renovate old buildings and build new ones in order to attract new residents and business? Or should developers realize that the people aren't coming back, and in turn tear down abandoned commercial spaces and houses, rid the ground of pollutants, and turn brown sites into greenspace and municipal/state parks, thereby creating a less dense but more appealing city in which to live? Reimagining Chevy-in-the-Hole blog and more proposals [pdf] for renovating the Flint River District.

Icesave closes its doors

Happy Dave — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:59:18 -0800

Icelandic internet bank Icesave has closed its doors. The Icelandic government has told the UK chancellor that it cannot pay back the money of UK depositors. With some 350,000 UK citizens investing over £4.5Bn, the Icelandic savings protection scheme has "no intention of honouring their obligations here," according to Chanceller Alistair Darling. There have been rumours of instability at Icesave since early this year. The British Government, on the same day as announcing a £50Bn 'partial nationalisation' of major British banks, has agreed "in these exceptional circumstances, we will stand behind those depositors so they can get their money back". Questions still abound however.

Brokergeddon.

eriko — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:39:18 -0800

Lehman Brothers files for liquidation. After an all weekend emergency meeting at the New York Fed, no rescue, and LEH is gone. AIG announcing restructuring tomorrow. Bank of America in merger talks with Merrill Lynch, offering to buy the firm outright at $29/share, which values the 94 year old firm at a paltry $40 billion. The futures market say that stocks are not happy.

IndyMac Bank seized by federal regulators

Asherah — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:25:52 -0800

The FDIC has taken control of IndyMac Bank This is being described as the second largest bank failure in US history. If you are a current customer with funds on deposit, here's what you need to do.

Bringing Down Bear Stearns

SeizeTheDay — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 15:22:23 -0800

Bringing Down Bear Stearns, from Vanity Fair's August issue.

Button fly

klangklangston — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:16:52 -0800

Remember the old days of the web, where insane collectors cataloged their manias for the world to see? Where terrible design, including "portals" belied neat things kept by amateurs?

I stumbled onto these bank logos via Ffffound and thought they were neat examples of two-color design. But the primary focus of the site is buttons like these.

Also collected: Maritime flyers, Ads for button suppliers, sample cards… All sorts of stuff.

This is a post, not a board of directors meeting.

Smedleyman — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 13:33:52 -0800

Keep calm and lie down on the floor The John Dillinger Died for You Society has been commemorating the death of Public Enemy #1 every July 22 (last July Pope Michael Flores spoke) Their major spiritual teaching comes from the eminently quotable St. John Dillinger the Martyr who said: “Lie down on the floor and keep calm” during his bank robberies. (Considering his other quotes, it’s ironic that he was canonized) You can join just for the hell of it. Maybe check out a scrapbook of his greatest (ahem) hits. If you’re in Indiana some time you can check out his grave . And of course there’s Dillinger’s women (and everyone’s got a myspace page) But was he a hero for burning mortgages or a villian for robbing banks? Really, does it matter?

The South Bank Show

ClanvidHorse — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 12:09:21 -0800

The South Bank Show is the longest running arts show on television. Melvyn Bragg has presented an eclectic mix of televisual joy since 1978. SBS has presented in-depth portraits of many different types of artists during this time, covering a huge range of topics. From high art to low art, classical music to pop music, canonical literature to airport blockbusters it has offered some of the most insightful and enjoyable arts programming around. Much youtubery awaits inside Here's are some great episodes for your delectation. Iggy and the Stooges (1,2,3,4,5). J.G. Ballard (1,2,3). Woody Allen (1,2,3,4,5,6). Steve Reich (1,2,3,4,5,6). Sonic Youth (1,2,3). Enjoy!

Zeitgeist - Hegel would NOT be proud.

Baldons — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:16:39 -0800

Zeitgeist, the movie [Google Video link embedded] - An interesthing, if bizarre, mix of buffed-up comparative mythology, 9/11 conspiracy theories and New world order rambling about banks, loans, debts and war. Is paranoia the spirit of our times?