Word: lending
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
While calming the general public is critical, nobody has yet figured out how to deal with a fundamental cause of this crisis: banks' loss of confidence in each other. They are so nervous about so-called "counterparty risk" - the possibility of not being repaid - that they have stopped lending to one another, bringing credit markets to a grinding halt. "We know who the strong banks are, but we don't know who the strong banks are exposed to," explains Simon Maughan, banking analyst at MF Global in London. In this treacherous environment, a bank doesn't just worry about...
...schedule, Cameron appeared on stage the next morning to pledge to work with his Labour opponents to expedite legislation enabling the Bank of England to rescue failing banks. He also promised further protections for bank customers and a concerted attempt to break the vicious cycle reducing banks' ability to lend. And he warned against the partisan rancor that derailed the U.S. bailout. "Let's not allow the political wrangling and point-scoring that we've seen in America to happen here in our own country," he said...
...current bad news. A bailout would be just the beginning of what looks to be a long and painful unwinding for Asia, for example. Even if the U.S. government can pass a plan to pump money into the financial system by buying bad mortgages - thus freeing up banks to lend money elsewhere - it won't "address the decimation of the wealth effect of the U.S. consumer," which many export-led Asian economies rely on, says Kirby Daley, senior strategist at Newedge Group, a financial services firm based in Hong Kong...
...which must be greased in order to prevent further deterioration of the financial sector. The $700 billion bailout is an appropriate short-term tactic and should stabilize the U.S. economy, buying time to address root problems. The credit market freeze stems from banks that are unwilling or unable to lend out capital for any significant length of time. Surviving banks are, quite appropriately, concerned that their damaged assets, composed largely of mortgage-backed securities, may rapidly decline in price, leaving banks with a need for immediate capital. By purchasing a portion of these depressed assets from troubled banks, the Treasury...
...soon as possible. Getting prices "moving again"--which means moving higher--is one all-but-explicit goal of the Paulson bailout. If house prices head back up, fewer mortgages will exceed the value of the asset that backs them up, foreclosures will drop, and bankers will be willing to lend again. More generally, in a nation of homeowners, people will get back that cozy feeling that they are getting richer without lifting a finger. "Confidence"--today's great missing ingredient--will be restored. The crisis will end. The dreamer awakes and takes out a second mortgage, and we all live...