PayThink

After Brian Moynihan became CEO at the start of 2010, B of A's stock lost more than half its value. Meanwhile, the leading bank stock index, KBW, scarcely went down at all. And B of A was recently selling for about 1/3 of book, a remarkably low valuation. Evidently enormous further losses are expected. Why?

Michael Stockman and Michael Roseman may have had the same title at MF Global, chief risk officer, but their testimony Thursday for the House Oversight Committee highlighted distinct differences in actual roles, responsibilities, and personal perspectives.

To suggest that MMFs exist in a hidden “shadow” world simply distorts reality.

Spurred by the financial crisis and its impact on their constituents, state attorneys general appear to be carving out a new role as de facto bank regulators. This trend, an unexpected fall out of the financial crisis and the passage of Dodd-Frank, may not as yet be fully appreciated. However, it seems increasingly clear that state AGs will be important arbiters of the way banks do business on a going forward basis.

With all the twists and backroom turns, government officials’ quest for a settlement and restitution from banks and mortgage servicers is starting to resemble a 1960s screwball comedy.

So who exactly made the move on Bank Transfer Day? Was it young, angry hipsters?

The fact of the matter is that banks can manipulate earnings, and consequently capital, through decisions about loss provisioning.

Caught between Democrats and Republicans, Freddie Mac is guilty of the ultimate sin: owning something it can't easily explain.

Many blame the current banking industry malaise on the economy. Its problems, however, involve deeper structural issues.

The blog Deus Ex Macchiato has some fun with the "famous (and unfairly derided) Rumsfeld quote." You know, the one about "known knowns" and "unknown unknows."