All GLG News Analyses Filed Under: Commercial & Retail Banking

1.  Banks have difficulty making the returns investors demand without taking undue risk. 2.  Kessler predicts that investment banks will lead the consolidation he foresees.  However, private equity could play a key role.  

Citibank announced that it will cut back on its branch expansion strategy and may sell some recently opened branches due to high costs and/or poor results.  Any future expansion initiatives are likely to be limited to larger markets. What are the implications for Citibank's future in retail banking?...

Can the Federal Reserve bail the United States economy out of a recession? Can a politically motivated economic stimulus package bail out the economy? Are the economic fundamentals so strong and flexible in the United States that the Nation’s economy can rebound quickly with very little damage to its...

Sub Prime Mortgage crisis not the main problem.

1. Australian banks have little exposure to US sub-prime mortgages. 2. Turmoil in financial markets has had no immediate impact on the credit ratings of Australian Banks.

Implications: 1. Rising Consumer defaults, Rising Energy costs, Higher Unemployment - Financial Crisis. 2.Share holder Earnings will suffer a hugh loss and, further , weaken the economy. 3.This financial activity will enforce the insitution to activate many other sell-offs of economic units. 4....

TD Bank (Toronto Dominion) agreed to purchase Commerce Bancorp for $8.5 billion in 2007, however, shareholder lawsuits and a suit from its former CEO and a suit filed against his wife and her design firm may be putting the deal in jeopardy. TD Bank agreed to pay a 7% premium over Commerce's closing...

This is interesting. The analysts and research houses have failed to pick this up and warn the public. The banks recently raised their interest rates outside the Federal Reserve bank, between 0.10% - .50%. to all their retail customers. This includes business loans.

Not too long ago AMRO purchased one of Detroit's leading regional banks. The news of an Australian bank buying an American institution wasn't as rattling to me as it might be if I had learned that an Asia-based entity had made the purchase. News that China's central bank is purchasing Australian banks...

In 2008, writedowns expected due to CLOs or LBOs should be smaller in magnitude than the $50B writedowns we have observed due to mortgage bond devaluations.