4 Insurers Seek to Buy Thrifts for Part of Bailout Nov 15, 2008
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc., Genworth Financial Inc., Lincoln National Corp. and Aegon NV, a Dutch company that owns U.S. insurer Transamerica, each asked the Office of Thrift Supervision for permission to acquire an existing savings and loan ... The Treasury Department agency said it received submissions from those four firms to become thrift holding companies by acquiring savings and loans. (ABC News -- Wire)
Hartford Financial Soars on Plan to Join TARP Nov 15, 2008
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hartford Financial Services Group Inc , a property and casualty insurer beset by worries about capital levels, said on Friday it agreed to buy a small savings and loan, making it eligible to raise up to $3 ... The insurer said it plans to recapitalize Federal Trust, and has applied to the federal Office of Thrift Supervision to become a savings and loan holding company. (ABC News -- Wire)
Ben's Battle Against Debt Deflation Nov 15, 2008
The Hartford, an insurance giant, became a savings and loan in order to obtain a $3. 4 billion transfusion from taxpayers. (Forbes)
Hartford applies to become S&L, buys Federal Trust Nov 15, 2008
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said Friday it applied to switch its business structure to a savings and loan holding company, which would make the firm eligible for funding under the government's $700 billion bank rescue package. Hartford also said it agreed to buy Federal Trust Bank for about $10 million and to recapitalize the bank with an undisclosed sum. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
$13.8 billion cash infusion for Freddie Mac Nov 15, 2008
Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said it applied to switch its business structure to a savings and loan holding company, which would make the firm eligible for funding under the government's $700 billion bank rescue package. The company's share price surged $2. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
Feds back up GE finance unit's debt Nov 13, 2008
GE qualifies for the FDIC program because GE Capital Corp. is a savings and loan holding company that owns GE Money Bank, a federally chartered thrift, GE spokesman Russell Wilkerson said. "We see this eligibility for this program as a great benefit to investors," he said. (OregonLive, OR -- Business)
Grim global forecast from private equity firms Nov 13, 2008
The move by the U.S. government in September to close and sell the banking assets of the savings and loan company Washington Mutual to JPMorgan Chase wiped out a $1. 35 billion investment that TPG had made five months earlier. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
TARP Changes Colors Nov 13, 2008
0 billion immediately, which is known as the and is available to banks, savings associations and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies. President George Bush has requested an additional $100. (Forbes)
Lobbyists swarm the U.S. Treasury for a helping of bailout pie Nov 12, 2008
The Treasury Department is under siege by an army of hired guns for banks, savings and loan associations and insurers as well as for improbable candidates like a Hispanic business group representing plumbing and home-heating specialists ... Under the terms of the $250 billion capital purchase program announced last month, cash infusions are available to "qualifying U.S. banks, savings associations, and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies, engaged only in financial activities."... (International Herald Tribune)
Bank-owned land draws interest from buyers Nov 11, 2008
After IndyMac repossessed the land, federal regulators closed the Pasadena-based bank in July, the largest closure since the savings and loan crisis in 1991. The bank s representatives are working with the FDIC to sell foreclosed assets. (Sacramento Business Journal, CA)
TARP Stretched Thin Nov 11, 2008
In its bailout of the financial system, Treasury made the first $250 billion--known as the Capital Purchase Program--available to banks, savings associations and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies. The deadline for publicly traded banks to apply for the program is Friday, though Treasury is extending the deadline for private banks to apply. (Forbes)
No quick cure for real-estate lending crunch, experts say Nov 10, 2008
The state s real estate problems were compounded by the savings and loan meltdown, Fenoglio continued. Then came the (RTC), which was created to liquidate the assets of the S&Ls, namely their real estate assets a process that led to a major drop in real estate values in Texas. (San Antonio Business Journal, TX)
How Depressing Was the Depression, Really? Nov 10, 2008
The conclusion seems clear that savings and loan companies are not good places to deposit money even tho they pay a high rate of interest ... The failure of the 4 big Toledo banks and the stoppage of withdrawals by practically all of the savings and loan companies has tied up everything. (Slate)
Battered builders cope Nov 8, 2008
The company is looking to pick off deals like those found during the Resolution Trust Corp. days after the savings and loan debacle of the 1980s and will consider buying existing builders, land and approved development properties. Nothing would be ruled out, McCarron said. (Philadelphia Business Journal, PA)
At the crossroads of finance and culture Nov 8, 2008
George's view of the savings and loan as a form of social welfare institution was learned at the feet of his father, who built that savings and loan, telling him, "It's deep in the race for a man to want his own roof and walls and fireplace. And we're helping him get those things.". Today in Culture. (International Herald Tribune)
Election 2008 Letters (Oct. 21) Nov 8, 2008
In exchange for McCain intervening with regulators on Keating s manipulation of Lincoln Savings and Loan, which fleeced thousands of elderly of their life savings, McCain got free family vacations, the taxpayers had to bail out the S McCain was chastized by the Senate. About McCain s advisors: Try lobbyists like Green and Berman, paid by Ameriquest 720,000. (Corvallis Gazette Times, OR)
Guaranty widens Q3 loss Nov 6, 2008
The Austin-based savings and loan lost $162 million, or $4. 89 a share, in the quarter ending Sept. 30. (Austin Business Journal, TX)
Progressive Voice/ Brad Pfeiffer: Pfeiffer talks about Joe the phony plumber Nov 6, 2008
Republican John McCain clearly has a documented history of standing up and fighting for the wealthy at the expense of middle class taxpayers (google Keating Five + savings and loan debacle). McCain's tax plan, like George W. Bush's, represents precious little for the middle class, but would overwhelmingly and generously benefit the top 1 percent of Americans, at a time when the nation is deeply, deeply in debt. (Heber Springs Sun-Times, AR)
Banking on travel Nov 6, 2008
A few weeks later, a newsletter crossed his desk and it had a story about a savings and loan in California that had started a travel agency and provided trips to customers as a way, in part, to reward good customers. The two incidents were the genesis for Bartlett Travel. (Memphis Business Journal, TN)
Peter Monroe, Former President of the RTC Oversight Board, Endorses Senator Obama Nov 4, 2008
"The economic crisis that we face today is far more intricate and globally pervasive than the situation that we faced in dealing with the savings and loan crisis in the late 80's and early 90's," said Mr. Monroe, who graduated from Oxford University with an honors M.A. degree in economics. He continued, "We face a 'perfect storm' of economic downturn and credit crunch, led by the economic and financial meltdown of the housing and mortgage sectors. "We cannot afford to have a President at this... (PR Newswire)
Health Fair Thursday Nov 4, 2008
Among those signed up for booths, or as booth sponsors are: McDonalds, First State Community Bank, Conservative Financial Services, Ozarks Federal Savings and Loan, Skaggzzz Sleep Institute, VNA TIP Hospice, Accent, Leadco Community Credit Union, Camelot Nursing & Rehab, Curves, Mineral Area College, New Image Aesthetics & Laser Center, Quality Health Care, Better Bodies, Medi-Care Plus Pharmacy, Kama Chambers Edward Jones, Massage Works, Jennie Annies, Yon Hearing Instruments Inc, St. Francois... (Park Hills Daily Journal, MO)
New terrain for U.S. bailout panel Nov 4, 2008
Having been handed vast authority and almost no restrictions in the bailout law that Congress passed a month ago, a committee of five little-known government officials, aided by a bare-bones staff of 40, is picking winners and losers among thousands of banks, savings and loans, insurers and other institutions ... "This is a four-ring circus," said Tim Ryan, a former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision, who helped run the savings and loan cleanup in the 1980s and 1990s. (International Herald Tribune)
"Chain of Blame" Shows How Mortgage Crisis Came About Nov 3, 2008
Prior to the Savings and Loan meltdown and the eventual demise of San brokers played only a small role in the total picture of residential lending. But, as more and more non-bank lenders, such as Countrywide, expanded into the lending vacuum left by the Sdependent loan brokers played an ever-increasing role. (RealtyTimes)
Loss in confidence in banks has savers rethinking deposits Nov 3, 2008
Even during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s, consumers weren't as panicked and prone to moving money as today, says James Chessen, chief economist of the American Bankers Association, a trade group. In a market ruled by investor fear, banks of all sizes worry that they could be the next victim of the downturn. (USA Today -- Money)
Hope: Global outlook is optimistic Nov 3, 2008
The report looks at the historical precedent of financial crises in Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Japan in the 1990s, as well as the United States during the savings and loan crisis. It suggests that bank recapitalisation can be beneficial to economies and that the financial burden on taxpayers is not necessarily onerous. (iAfrica.com)
Regulators shut down Freedom Bank in Florida Nov 3, 2008
In July another big savings and loan, IndyMac Bank based in Pasadena, Calif ... Well over half of the roughly 8,500 federally-insured banks and savings and loans are expected to tap the FDIC's temporary guarantees. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
First Franklin sees third-quarter loss Nov 3, 2008
The parent of Franklin Savings and Loan posted a third-quarter net loss of $39,000, or 2 cents per share, compared to net income of $104,000, or 6 cents per share, in the year-ago quarter. For the first nine months of 2008, the thrift reported a net loss of $809,000, or 48 cents per share, versus net income of $367,000, or 22 cents per share, in the same 2007 period. (Cincinnati Business Courier, OH)
NO BONUSE$ FOR YOU Nov 3, 2008
I've observed many financial scandals, from the savings and loan failures through Enron, WorldCom, and post-Sarbanes-Oxley messes like backdated options. All were recognized as tragic but not pervasive - compartmentalized as the corruption of a limited group of individuals. (New York Post -- Business)
First Franklin Corporation (FFHS) Reports Third Quarter Earnings Nov 1, 2008
CINCINNATI, Ohio, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- First Franklin Corporation (Nasdaq: ), the parent of Franklin Savings and Loan Company, Cincinnati, Ohio today announced a net loss of $39,000 ($0. 02 per basic share) for the third quarter of 2008 and a loss of $809,000 ($0. (PR Newswire)
Flatbush Federal Bancorp, Inc. Reports 2008 Third Quarter Operating Results Nov 1, 2008
BROOKLYN, N.Y., Oct. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Flatbush Federal Bancorp, Inc. (the "Company") (OTC Bulletin Board: FLTB), the holding company of Flatbush Federal Savings and Loan Association (the "Association"), announced consolidated net income of $78,000, or $0. 03 per share for the quarter ended September 30, 2008 as compared to net income of $31,000, or $0. (PR Newswire)
BentleyForbes secures financing for Prudential Plaza purchase Nov 1, 2008
5 billion, BentleyForbes was founded by C. Frederick Wehba, who in 1995 pleaded guilty to a charge that he concealed his ownership of a Beverly Hills home from the receiver of a failed Texas savings and loan. What do you think. (Crain's Chicago Business)
Frost says no thanks to govt money Nov 1, 2008
(NYSE:CFR), based in San Antonio, was the only top 10 Texas financial institution to survive the 1980s savings and loan crisis. It has weathered the current financial storm comparatively well, said Cullen/Frost Chairman and CEO Dick Evans in a written statement. (Dallas Business Journal, TX)
Naugatuck Valley, Salisbury banks report losses Nov 1, 2008
Despite strong operating results, two community banks in the region Naugatuck Valley Savings and Loan and Salisbury Bank announced losses for the third quarter Friday due to investments made on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are the two government-chartered mortgage finance companies that were taken over by the government in early September. (Republican-American)
McCain, the battle-scarred warrior, fights on Nov 1, 2008
But just months into his Senate career, he made what he's called "the worst mistake of his life." He participated in two meetings with banking regulators on behalf of Charles Keating, a friend, campaign contributor, constituent and savings and loan financier who was later convicted of securities fraud. The Sation simmered for a few years, but eventually boiled over, and McCain got burned. (WWLTV.com, LA)
Election '08: Voting Radically • How Mortgage Crisis Happened: Good Intentions Paved Dire Path Nov 1, 2008
Amid the savings and loan fallout, Congress enacted the Financial Institutions Reform Recovery and Enforcement Act ... Madeline Talbott, a well-known radical ACORN leader and banking industry agitator, challenged the merger of a Chicago thrift, Bell Federal Savings and Loan Association, which responded that it was being bullied into irresponsible "affirmative-action lending policy.". (Investors Business Daily)
Facing Failure: Service Contracts and the FDIC's Role as Receiver Oct 31, 2008
The first massive banking failure occurred in the early 1930s, and the second was the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s. From 1930 to 1933, during the Great Depression, 9,906 banks failed. (Law.com)
Maid-Turned-Realtor Masterminded Las Vegas Mortgage Scam, Prosecutors Say Oct 31, 2008
Eric Nelson, who auctioned off more than $1 billion of real estate after the 1980s savings and loan crisis, came out of retirement last summer to buy distressed real estate in the Southwest. Fully half of the applications for mortgages he's examined in Nevada, Arizona and Utah contain false information, he says. (Bloomberg)
Can we afford McCain? Oct 31, 2008
In the mid-1980s, a savings and loan banker named Charles Keating made generous contributions to McCain s campaign fund, and provided family vacations and other perks ... McCain voted repeatedly against congressional efforts to tighten regulation of savings and loan associations ... Keating went to prison for substituting worthless uninsured bonds for his customers federally insured savings, and more than 23,000 Lincoln Savings and Loan customers lost their entire savings. (Winona Daily News, MN)
McCain seeks to revive Rezko as campaign issue Oct 31, 2008
It also noted that McCain was reprimanded for his role in the Keating Five savings and loan scandal of the 1980s. We will accept no lectures from the man who was a central figure in the biggest Washington scandal in recent memory, Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said. (San Diego Union-Tribune)
After one day, appraisal chief quit Oct 29, 2008
Congress created the Appraisal Subcommittee nearly 20 years ago after concluding that faulty and fraudulent appraisals were an important contributor to the savings and loan crisis in the 1980s. It's main function is conducting field reviews and audits to ensure states are licensing appraisers and disciplining those who break the rules. (Boston Globe)
Tech Security Terms You Should Know Oct 29, 2008
And it's not just marquee names like Wells Fargo (nyse: - - ) that scammers choose to mimic; overseas scammers can even disguise themselves as your local and trusted savings and loan. From there, the attackers can steal login information, often to online bank accounts. (Forbes)
California Focus: October surprise: Dems ignore Keating-McCain links Oct 29, 2008
Maybe it's because the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s pales beside this fall's financial collapse ... aufever wrote on Oct 28, 2008 3:57 PM:" The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The five senators, Alan Cranston (D-CA), Dennis DeConcini (D-AZ), John Glenn (D-OH), John McCain (R-AZ), and Donald W. Riegle (D-MI),... (Hanford Sentinal, CA)
McCain, Obama cross Fla. today Oct 29, 2008
(The Keating Five were five United States Senators accused of corruption in 1989, igniting a major political scandal as part of the larger Savings and Loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s. What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker. (The Palm Beach Post)
More From That Chilling Diary of the Great Depression Oct 29, 2008
Since the local savings and loan companies stopped paying out, nobody has any money and everybody seems scared and blue. We seem to have touched bottom in Youngstown and it hardly seems possible that things could get worse. (Slate)
What does GOD say about this coming election Oct 28, 2008
Kimbro aka Kim wrote on Oct 21, 2008 10:12 PM:" Greed,you mean like having 8 homes, and 13 cars?How about free vacations, and use of a private plane given by a then soon to be ex savings and loan executive?A moral & just person would refuse such extravagant gifts. "The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness. "- John Kenneth GalbraithAmerican Economist (1908 - 2006) ". (New Iberia, LA)
FBI Probe of JPMorgan Fees Focuses on Swaps That Roiled Taxpayer's Debt Oct 28, 2008
In October, JPMorgan failing Washington Mutual Inc., the largest savings and loan institution in the U.S., with $188 billion in deposits. Behind the glow of favorable publicity in which JPMorgan has basked, its municipal derivatives unit has operated in obscurity. (Bloomberg)
HSBC passes on federal program Oct 28, 2008
The program is available to banks, savings associations, and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies. Signups are possible through Nov. 14. (Buffalo Business First, NY)
COMPANIES START COMPETING FOR BAILOUT CASH... Oct 27, 2008
Some insurers technically would be eligible for stock purchases now if they own subsidiaries that are savings and loan institutions regulated by the Office of Thrift Supervision. Last month, American International Group, the country's largest insurance company, received an $85 billion loan from the Federal Reserve. (The Drudge Report)
In troubled times, McCain's experience matters Oct 27, 2008
His mistakes include at least one instance of poor judgment in allowing his office to be used by savings and loan bandits seeking special treatment - a mistake he owns up to and has long sought to rectify by bucking the political establishment to champion campaign finance reform. And we do have a problem with McCain's choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin: She's not yet ready to run the country. (Burley South Idaho Press, ID)
US Mulls Widening Bailout to Insurers Oct 26, 2008
Under the terms of Treasury's program, eligible insurers must be operated by either a financial institution holding company or a savings and loan holding company. The holding companies must also be regulated by a federal agency. (Wall Street Journal)
LETTERS: NCT, Oct. 25, 2008 Oct 26, 2008
The Keating Five savings and loan scandal should be particularly relevant at this juncture, in light of the recent banking institution failures. So please, Mr. Kerpani, if you are going to write a letter questioning my intelligence, please don't insult it by trying to mislead me. (North County Times)
The untouchables Oct 25, 2008
Maybe Jake will adopt a failed savings and loan as a symbol of his contribution to Atlanta community. Lew, Do you REALLY think that if this continues as it will through next baseball season that anyone is going to give a damn about a MLB season. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Sports)
Support library service Oct 25, 2008
He was a member of the Keating Five and associated with the Lincoln Savings and Loan debacle that bilked investors out of millions. McCain received hundreds of thousands in campaign contributions from Charles Keating, Lincoln s CEO. They took frequent jaunts to the Bahamas on Keating s private jet. (Longview Daily News, WA)
Georgia's Alpha Bank & Trust Becomes the 16th U.S. Bank Seized This Year Oct 25, 2008
Washington Mutual, the biggest savings and loan, sold its assets to JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sept. 25 after customers drained $16. 7 billion in deposits in less than two weeks. (Bloomberg -- US)
$28M deal by Adler Group sets industrial record Oct 24, 2008
In the savings and loan crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, Breckenridge Park, then owned by Trammell Crow, went into receivership and was sold. Nearly 40 percent of Breckenridge s rent roll is slated to be turning this year, said sources familiar with the property. (Tampa Bay Business Journal, FL)
"The Market Kept Going Down and Down ": A Diary of the Great Depression Oct 24, 2008
The town is stunned by the news that The Home Savings and Loan Co. has suspended payments and would demand 60 days notice of withdrawals. This is followed quickly by similar announcements from The Federal Savings and Loan Co. and The Metropolitan Savings and Loan Co. All of these loan companies paid 5 % on savings deposits and earned their money by lending on real estate. (Slate)
'I feel like we got a righteous wind at our backs'... Oct 23, 2008
"...The Bush administration today recommended the most significant regulatory overhaul in the housing finance industry since the savings and loan crisis a decade ago. Under the plan, disclosed at a Congressional hearing today, a new agency would be created within the Treasury Department to assume supervision of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac... ...''These two entities -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- are not facing any kind of financial crisis,'' said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts,... (The Drudge Report)
Utah Medical Products, Inc. Reports Financial Performance for Third Quarter 2008 Oct 23, 2008
At the beginning of the year, I felt that 2% of UTMD's excess cash held in the stock of the largest savings and loan in the U.S., paying an excellent dividend, was a good investment decision. I have to accept personal responsibility for the bad investment outcome, in part because it was also my judgment that we should buy more as the stock declined. (Primezone Releases)
Credit Market On Mend? Oct 22, 2008
and Washington Mutual, the nation's largest savings and loan, found themselves without the cash to pay their creditors as housing losses accumulated. It got to the point where every financial institution was suspect and virtually no lender was willing to extend credit. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
More struggle ahead for housing market Oct 22, 2008
Alex Pollock, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said it's instructive to look back at the deep recession of the 1980s, when agriculture, oil and commercial real estate experienced busts; up to 200 commercial banks failed annually for five or six years; emerging countries defaulted on debts; and the savings and loan crisis hit - all simultaneously. "We recovered and went into the boom of the 1990s," he said. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Business)
Regional Banks Struggled Through 3rd Quarter Oct 22, 2008
That, he said, is what happened during the recessions that followed the savings and loan crisis and the bursting of the technology bubble. The prospect of deeper losses at banks is setting the stage for a second round of consolidation in the industry, after the recent wave of blockbuster deals that occurred as the nation s biggest banks swallowed troubled competitors. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Business)
BIZ SCENE: First the test, then the lesson Oct 21, 2008
Holmes warned at the time that Fannie Mae was taking on significantly more risk, "which may not pose any difficulties during flush economic times. But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980s.". Some savvy lenders had a hunch that might happen. (Middletown Press, CT)
Election 2008 Letters (Oct. 21) Oct 21, 2008
In exchange for McCain intervening with regulators on Keating s manipulation of Lincoln Savings and Loan, which fleeced thousands of elderly of their life savings, McCain got free family vacations, the taxpayers had to bail out the S McCain was chastized by the Senate. About McCain s advisors: Try lobbyists like Green and Berman, paid by Ameriquest 720,000. (Corvallis Gazette Times, OR)
Rooting out the truth of Joe the Plumber Oct 20, 2008
But the government-subsidized corporation may run into trouble in an economic downturn, prompting a government rescue similar to that of the savings and loan industry in the 1980's. " Find the whole article in the NYtimes archives- title: "Fannie Mae eases credit to aid mortgage lending" ". (Helena Independent Record, MT)
Commercial foreclosures possible Oct 20, 2008
The last time Atlanta saw commercial foreclosures was the 1990-1991 economic recession, marked by the savings and loan industry collapse. This article is for Paid Print Subscribers ONLY.. (Atlanta Business Chronicle, GA)
