Meltdown US banks within weeks says Fortis chairman

www.charleston.net...

First Integrity, which had two branches and $55 million in assets, was the fourth FDIC-insured bank to fail this year. That’s one more than during the entire three-year stretch leading up to 2008. Some analysts predict that as many as 150 banks, mostly small and medium-size, could fail over the next three years.

In its role as receiver for failed banks, the FDIC acts as a SWAT team, playing equal parts secret agent, medical examiner, salesman and grief counselor. The first 48 hours are typically the most frantic, as the agency must turn a failed bank inside out and oversee its sale — or its orderly burial.

Secrecy is paramount to prevent a panic among the locals and a run on the bank. That could sink a bank and lead to runs on neighboring institutions. Banks only retain a percentage of their deposits in cash, and use the rest for things like loans, which means they don’t have enough money on hand if everyone demands their deposits back at once. Created after the Great Depression to prevent such scares, the FDIC insures deposits at more than 8,000 banks, covering up to $100,000 per depositor in most cases.

[edit on 30/6/2008 by kosmicjack]

reply to post by Pjotr



glad to see others garnish info from other sources
like the 'www. wakefromyour slumber' site i sporatically read/gleen...

but i see one glaring [?intended] mistake---->
the Fed (federal reserve) actually has only 60 banks on their 'watch list' for a near-term insolvency or bankruptcy action
the Fed as soon as last year (2007) began reactivating financial experts from the last round of fraudlent activity that resulted in many S&L bankruptcys.

but this 2008 cycle is involving many of the 1,200 Fed backed banks (both commercial and now Investment banks) that are now free to do business at the 'discount window'... and are FDIC insured financial instituitions
~which is a far cry from the doomsday scenario of the articles some multi-thousands of banks who will simeotaneously
(according to them) go bankrupt at a weeks or months time...

Prepostetous ! i say,
but thanks for the OP and a chance to try & bring some sane thought to the thread
~~~~~~~~~


remember the numbers -> '60' regional or national banks in danger of being insolvent/bankrupt

up to 1,200 total banks, which encompasses the 60 main banks local brick-&-mortar buildings in one's hometown or locale.
a lot of financial institutions will merge or be assimilated by the larger banks, sothats why the '60' number is mentioned---it gives you the real 'scope' of the fiscal problems --- which is actually sort of frightening

because if the FDIC has to insure even a million accounts to the tune of $100,000. each.. the USD will surely collapse to .20 cents on the dollar value in relation to world currencies



[edit on 30-6-2008 by St Udio]

Originally posted by St Udio
reply to post by Pjotr

 

Prepostetous ! i say,
but thanks for the OP and a chance to try & bring some sane thought to the thread
~~~~~~~~~


remember the numbers -> '60' regional or national banks in danger of being insolvent/bankrupt

up to 1,200 total banks, which encompasses the 60 main banks local brick-&-mortar buildings in one's hometown or locale.
a lot of financial institutions will merge or be assimilated by the larger banks, sothats why the '60' number is mentioned---it gives you the real 'scope' of the fiscal problems --- which is actually sort of frightening

because if the FDIC has to insure even a million accounts to the tune of $100,000. each.. the USD will surely collapse to .20 cents on the dollar value in relation to world currencies

[edit on 30-6-2008 by St Udio]

You see, THAT's info we need. The sheer size of the US had mystified me on this point. I couldn't believe the number of 6000, but am used to my own surprise when it comes to numbers these days, be it EU or US. I am very glad to hear that it must be 60. It crumbles the doomsday monstermoviescenario i had in mind to at least understandable notions.

What i have learned however, and that still worries me is all the apparent "not-knowing" that is going on in the banking world itself. They all come up with different numbers.
A star for you, my friend.

[edit on 30-6-2008 by Pjotr]

Hey All,

Am I missing something?

If the banks were to have a meltdown, what difference would it make to the value of ones money by taking it out in cash?

reply to post by SugarCube


No. This is Fortis, a very serious company.

"Officials with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have informed Bernanke about a plan that would have been unheard-of in the past: a general examination of the US financial system." www.spiegel.de...

Then we have the central banking magazine -- name escapes me. Agreeing with Fortis's statements.

I understand that a market can be spooked. But we have tons of years of "ra, ra, market" which seems to be all that industry insiders can say of outsourcing and Supply-side economics. Which have failed to lift the market. A short-term spike can be irrational. But the market has troubling fundamentals.

I think what we will see is major "industry" groups, putting in small print a warning -- and that will be a CYA later, when it happens, and stockholders want to sue. It will all be there in black and white. But, in today's media, if it is unimportant, it is headlines for a week 24/7. If it is important, it gets buried on page 6 and never repeated.

Originally posted by ALightinDarkness
reply to post by housegroove23

 

In other words, you want a world where everyone believes with your narrowly defined worldview, and are hoping for absolute disaster in order to mold a world where everyone agrees with you. Lovely.

I would like a world with just me and a select few, the rest of you can burn and I'll await my eventual demise on the beach with my moonshine and a savage nature.

Just some background on Fortis:

Earlier this week the Fortisstock dropped from around 35 euro to around 10.
Fortis bought Rabobank some time ago for which they had to pay 24 billion. They did not have the money but they had a solid plan to get it. Part of it (about 13 billion) would come from a "recapitalization" the rest would come from selling of buildings and so called "non-core" activities.

The 13 billion was gathered however, because of recent economic turmoil they did not get what they expected from their sales. This, of course, presented a problem.

Now, Fortisshares were the top payed dividend from the Belgian companies. However because of lack of money they decided to create a whole bunch of new shares and not pay the dividend in euro but rather in stock. This caused the stock to plummet.

Fortis spokesmen hammered the fact that they were not afraid to make though decisions and the investors shouldn't panic. Now this statement about American banks comes, while it is probably true we are going into a recession (which is a natural economic occurrence!!) I think this might be more Fortis saying "Look people, we now its bad, but stay with us, we can only go up, don't invest anywhere else, they can still go down!".

[edit on 30-6-2008 by sn00daard]

For what it's worth, Maurice Lippens is a member of the Trilateral Commission and a Bilderberg attendee.

Time to get ready for the coinage called the Amero when this pre-planned fall of the United States economy occurs. There! I said it. Pre-planned.

Have you seen the Amero? Google Amero under the images option. It doesn't say the United States of America. It's about the North American continent becoming one financial entity. And the androgynous person featured on the coin has me wondering if that is the god Mercury.

Originally posted by ALightinDarkness
reply to post by Agit8dChop

 

I'm not sure whats is more sad - that the ATS doom and gloomers are now out in public advertising that they have been hoping/praying for a total catastrophe, or that they believe they can somehow build utopia out of it.

I'm glad our society is collapsing. We need serious change. Plus I'm an anarchist so I love watching it crash and burn. Even if Utopia is out of reach, olmost anything is better than our current way of doing things. We don't produce anything, we burn fossil fuels when clean alternatives exist, we live beyond our means and we consume consume consume without a care for the environmental damage. Its disgusting. If things go from bad to worse then alot of people will die. and I say let us. we don't deserve this planet.

Boy oh BOY some people are testy today on ATS.
Between the economy in the crapper, and the video 'supposidly' of US Troops killing people.. soemthings made a nerve got 'tweek'

.. In regards to the utopia?

Yes, I look forward to the day, that the present day corporate government is destroyed. imagine it, instead of working, paying taxes, paying the oil barrons, your money is put into hospitals, infrastructure.. into bettering the wellbeing of your fellow man, instead of lining the rich mens pockets.

Wow, imagine that, that utopia sounds almost impossible, I may as well give up and just directly deposit my wages into KBR's banks, hell you can choose EXXON if you want.

As for WW2, yes.. who wouldnt..
honestly..

Id love to be part of the group that stormed omaha, or lay seige on Berlin..
It was a great victory for free loving men and by gosh id LOVE to have been a part of it.

so much so, ive spent the last few years doing nothing but TRAVELLING THESE PLACES, and from Australia, thats no mean feet.

St Mere Eglise, Normandy, Bastogne, Krakow, Berlin, Monte Casino, Hiroshima, Nagasaki..... boy to be a part of it.

unfortunately all I have is the dozens upon dozens of documentaries, the day dreams and the photos...

but to live todays change? be part of the great revolution?

If you dont want to be a part of that, what good are you as a human anyway.

reply to post by Agit8dChop


I think I'm more use as a good, sane human rather than a insane human. I will be dying for no ones delusions, including paranoid wacko conspiracy delusions.

Your post reeks of populist propaganda sewage to the core. Your wishing disaster upon everyone to fight the "evil corporate barons," those same barons who are taxed so that you can have your hospitals and infrastructure. Exactly what are you going to do after you "punish" them and they no longer exist to pay for everything? This may come as a newsflash to those who are completely asleep in the deep end of the populist propaganda sewage pool, but the majority of government receipts do not come from personal income taxes.


[edit on 30-6-2008 by ALightinDarkness]

Originally posted by guyopitz
If things go from bad to worse then alot of people will die. and I say let us. we don't deserve this planet.

Why is it I don't see you volunteering to die first? After all, your existence is a plague on this earth, and you are plundering it. If you really believed this sort of propganda, you wouldn't be here anymore.

Someone mentioned the IMF earlier in this thread, that was in an article from Der Spiegel(sp?) magazine in Germany. The IMF is going to basically "x-ray" the entire US financial system. But heres the interesting part, if you think thats bad, and it is, it gets a whole lot worse. President Bush has been rejecting IMF requests to do this for his entire administration, and has allowed this to be done only in the last years of his administration. Here's the hook though, the report won't be allowed to be released until he is out of office in 2010.

For seven years, US President George W. Bush refused to allow the IMF to conduct its assessment. Even now, he has only given the IMF board his consent under one important condition. The review can begin in Bush's last year in office, but it may not be completed until he has left the White House. This is bad news for the Fed chairman.

When the final report on the risks of the US financial system is released in 2010 -- and it is likely to cause a stir internationally -- only one of the people in positions of responsiblity today will still be in office: Ben Bernanke.

Here is a link to the Der Spiegel article translated into English.
IMF Inquiry into US Economy

But all of this has me confused. Does this mean that the powers that be, the central banks are hurting? Is Bernake's policy of continually cutting interest rates and the rising inflation the monkey wrench thrown into the machinery of their plans? Or are they just not ready to crash our economy just yet, and are trying to at least stave off for a little longer so they can bide more time? I know that our economy here in the US will eventually come crashing down hard, and I believe that event will be used to usher in the NAU.

I know many of you out there believe that Bush will declare martial law and try to keep the presidency, but does he even have to? Obama and McCain are both tools of the elite, they don't need to have this happen to achieve their goals. The longer many Americans believe the system works, the further they slip into the powers-that-be's pocket. The system needs to be broken in order for us to get our country back, and thats why I believe so many of these folks are freaking out. Anyone got anything to add or other thoughts?

Indymac the 9th largest mortgage holder folded at 5.45pm thats number one,5999 to go.

reply to post by anglodemonicmatrix


Do you have a link for that? There certainly doesn't seem to be a press release on their own website for it, and such news would cause utter doom and gloom hysteria in the media. While they certainly have been riding the doom and gloom train from what I saw on TV tonight, its no more than the usual.

At the moment its a mass circulated e-mail saying they've ceased lending operations with info tommorrow.

There is an interesting article in the Telegraph about the Bank of International Settlements view on the current economic crisis.

www.telegraph.co.uk.../money/2008/06/30/ccbis130.xml

First line is this

A year ago, the Bank for International Settlements startled the financial world by warning that we might soon face challenges last seen during the onset of the Great Depression. This has proved frighteningly accurate.

To digress, an Indymac failure would come as no surprise, but all I've heard is the same thing whoever posted said about them stopping lending. IMB (ticker symbol) is trading at less than $1 and is, I believe, a large lender in California. Sen. Schummer mentioned them specifically in a message to regulators last week. It would be interesting if they folded tommorrow but given FDICs propensity to come in on Friday (Thursday if a holiday weekend), we will probably have to wait a few days for that to play out. However, Indymac's stock was halted for much of the day today.

[edit on 30-6-2008 by jefwane]

Here's something:

latimesblogs.latimes.com...

Shares of Pasadena-based IndyMac slipped by 19 cents today, which would be no big deal for most stocks. But IndyMac is a penny stock these days, so a loss of less than two dimes a share wiped out roughly a quarter of its value. It closed at 62 cents a share.

Over at Money & Co., Tom Petruno details the near-run on the bank Friday and Saturday, as investors lined up to pull their money out of the bank, which has been battered to the brink of survival by bad loans. As Petruno explains, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) didn't do IndyMac any favors when he wrote to federal regulators saying he was "concerned that IndyMac’s financial deterioration poses significant risks to both taxpayers and...

Is the the second stage of an empires demise or the third??