“A better suggestion, Tavakoli says, is to make ratings agencies responsible for the quality of the information they use to make ratings.”
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NEW YORK, Sept. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Duff & Phelps Corporation , a leading independent financial advisory and investment banking firm, today announced that it has priced its initial public offering of … via Earth Times
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Pushing on a string, they call it…
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“Furthermore,” Shedlock notes, “the Fed executed a whopping $38 billion in repos (short-term bank loans) today, agreeing to take $22 billion in mortgages as collateral. Traditionally, the Fed accepts only Treasuries as collateral. This is a sign of continued panic by the Fed to contain these mortgage-related problems.” ”
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“IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG, the German lender that had to be bailed out by KfW Group over subprime losses, said fiscal first-quarter profit tumbled after the bank wrote down the value of financial assets. ”
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Investment bank Goldman Sachs has made a bid approach of about 700 million pounds for reinsurance broker Benfield , the Daily Telegraph said on Friday. via Reuters
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“It was the largest savings and loan failure since the tail end of the industry’s crisis more than 14 years ago. Federal regulators appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. as a receiver for Alpharetta, Ga.-based NetBank.” — We had them listed as a shuttered lender back in May. Note that the deal to sell off assets to Everbank also fell through. Note also that $109 million of NetBank was not FDIC-insured–ouch!
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(Update 1, 5:30pm Eastern) We’ve received volumnous word from current and former employees and correspondents of SCME that they have shut down their wholesale operations. We are informed that only their California retail will remain (something a bit less than a dozen branches). Below are key portions of communications of an AE at the company which was forwarded to us: As you are aware, the liquidity crisis in the mortgage lending industry has adversely impacted nearly every major mortgage originator, mortgage investor, and warehouse lender. SCME is no exception. We have spent a great deal of time analyzing the market and SCME’s role in the future of mortgage banking. There is every indication that the liquidity crisis will continue for the foreseeable future, causing significant challenges to our organization. We would like you to know that SCME has valued our relationships over the past 24 years, resulting in strong partnerships and lasting friendships. Thus, our decision has not been made lightly, nor has it come easily. Effective the close of business today, September 28th, 2007, SCME will no longer accept wholesale business. Any loan that is not funded as of today will be returned to our customers. A source gives as far as numbers on SCME: “Over 250 employees 11 branches closing 500mil to 800mil the last three months dropped to 150mil”. We were first alerted to the possibility of large-scale shutdowns back around the beginning of September, when an informant reported deep layoffs at the company. A description of the company is available at its “about” page (partially reproduced below): SCME Mortgage Bankers, Inc. is among the fastest growing, privately held mortgage companies in the country. 2004 marked SCME’s 20th anniversary as a full service mortgage banker, originating wholesale and retail loans. SCME operates branches throughout California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, and Utah and is authorized to do business in 29 states. SCME has over 100 highly competitive loan programs and employs leading edge technology to ensure that our customers are most efficiently served. We are an approved Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seller/servicer. We offer a full range of government and conventional products as well as home equity and niche products. SCME has been recognized by Broker Magazine as the 25th Largest Wholesale Lender in the Nation in 2005. SCME has also been recognized by Origination News as the 9th Largest Option ARM Lender and the 17th Largest Alt-A Lender in Q4 of 2005. We pride ourselves on providing the highest level of service to our customers and business partners.
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This is why Goldman’s house money goes towards commodities and scavenged housing finance positions. It’s good to be the king!
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