Showing posts with label tarp. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tarp. Show all posts

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The 'Heads I Win, Tails You Lose' Bank Bonus Culture

Still no riots...... ;-) I highly recommend to read From A Former Goldman Managing Director: How You Finance Goldman Sachs’ Profits via Zero Hedge. Doesn´t make you feel better..... And keep in mind "BASE COMPENSATION ISN`T COUNTED IN THE NUMBERS" and that "greater than $ 3 Mio" can also mean $ 10 Mio ( see Bonus Breakdown ) ......

Schon erstaunlich das die Amis das noch alles so hinnehmen.... Denke spätestens nachdem man From A Former Goldman Managing Director: How You Finance Goldman Sachs’ Profits via Zero Hedge gelesen hat dürften einige mehr als nur die Faust in der Tasche ballen...... Die "Chuzpe" ist schon fast wieder bewundernswert..... Nur zur Erinnerung "DIE GRUNDVERGÜTUNG IST IN DEN U.G. ZAHLEN NICHT ENTHALTEN UND KOMMT ON TOP".... Zudem bedeutet die Formulierung Bonuszahlung größer als 3 Mio $ gleichzeitig das etliche locker 10 Mio $ "verdient" haben ( siehe Bonus Breakdown )

Deal Journal

Andrew Cuomo, New York’s Attorney General, just released a report breaking down compensation at the nine original TARP recipients.
Bank Greater Than $3 Million Greater Than $2 Million Greater Than $1 Million
Bank of America 28 65 172
Bank of New York Mellon 12 22 74
Citigroup 124 176 738
Goldman Sachs 212 391 953
J.P. Morgan Chase 200* - 1626
Merrill Lynch 149 - 696
Morgan Stanley 101 189 428
State Street 3 8 44
Wells Fargo 7 22 62

The following graph is even more "impressive" and puts the bonus pool into perspective to the earnings/losses..... Taken from Cuomo releases ugly details on bank bonuses via R. Winkler

Denke das die nächste Übersicht noch mehr "Freude" verbreitet.... Hier werden die Bonuszahlungen ins Verhältnis zu den erzielten Gewinnnen oder besser gesagt erzielten Verlusten gesetzt...... Dank an R. Winkler ( siehe Cuomo releases ugly details on bank bonuses )

larger version / vergrößerte Version

More via the WSJ

The Millionaire´s Club / Interactive Graph

NYT & Dealbook

All told, the bonus pools at the nine banks that received bailout money was $32.6 billion, while those banks lost $81 billion.

In Thursday’s report, Mr. Cuomo described how Merrill and Citigroup — also the recipient of a big federal bailout — both lost more than $27 billion in 2008, but nonetheless paid a total of nearly $9 billion in bonuses to workers for that year.

Other banks, like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase, paid out 2008 bonuses that were substantially greater than their profits for the year.

In general, the report said, compensation at major banks “has become unmoored from the banks’ financial performance.”

Mr. Cuomo wrote:
Thus, when the banks did well, their employees were paid well. When the banks did poorly, their employees were paid well. And when the banks did very poorly, they were bailed out by taxpayers and their employees were still paid well.

Bonus Report



Monday, April 13, 2009

A Few Goldman Highlights........

More risk, more leverage ( & some kind of "creative accounting" - see end of the post ) ....... Brilliant!

Mehr Risiko, höherer Hebel ( & ein klein wenig "kreative" Buchführung - siehe Ende des Postings ) ..... Hat ja in der Vergangenheit erstklassig funktioniert.... Rechnet man mal die Jahre 2007 und 2008 heraus......


Reuters

A measure of the bank's trading risk, average daily value-at-risk, surged to $ 240 million in the first quarter of 2009, compared with $157 million for the three months ended February 28, 2008, implying that the bank took more trading risk

Goldman also disclosed that it has set aside $168,901 per employee on average for compensation in the quarter, almost 35 percent more than in the first quarter of the previous fiscal year

Bloomberg

Total assets on the balance sheet rose 5 percent from the end of November to $925 billion as of March 27. Of that, about $59 billion qualified as “Level 3” assets, which are the hardest to value, down from $66 billion at the end of November

For more details see Goldman Sachs Press Release

Für weitere Details bitte einen Blick in die Goldman Sachs Press Release werfen.

This from Zero Hedge fits perfectly.....

Diese Beobachtung von Zero Hedge paßt wie die Faust aufs Auge.......

A very interesting data point, also provided by the NYSE, implicates none other than administration darling Goldman Sachs in yet another potentially troubling development. The chart below demonstrates the program trading broken down by the top 15 most active NYSE member firms. I bring your attention to the total, principal, customer facilitation and agency columns.larger/größer

Key to note here is that Goldman's program trading principal to agency+customer facilitation ratio is a staggering 5x, which is multiples higher than both the second most active program trader and the average ratio of the NYSE, both at or below 1x.

The implication is that Goldman Sachs, due to its preeminent position not only as one of the world's largest broker/dealers (pardon, Bank Holding Companies), but also as being on the top of the high-frequency trading/liquidity provision "food chain", trades much more often for its own (principal) benefit

Also on the same topic via EconompicData

Zum gleichen Thema von EconompicData

If Goldman's Selling... Beware of Buying

Goldman's principal trading amounted to 20%+ of all program trading reported on the NYSE, up from between 3-5% one and two years back. In other words, leading up to a period when Goldman may be issuing several billion dollars in an equity offering, their own principal trading has amounted to 4-5x more volume than what had been typical, in an illiquid market, potentially driving up the value of financial equities in the process... interesting.

larger/größer

I think this comment from Jesse´s Cafe Americain nails it....

Ich denke der nachfolgen Kommentar von Jesse´s Cafe Americain faßt es ziemlich gut zusammen......

The bulk of their profit purportedly came from speculative trading for their own accounts, using 'cheap FDIC guaranteed funds.

There will be no recovery in the real economy until the financial system is reformed and banks are restrained into productive functions within our society.

Make also sure you visit this piece from Floyd Norris and his commensts from the conference call ( seeThe Case of the Missing Month ) or this little rant via Barry Ritholtz How to Puff Up Earnings, Goldman Sachs Style.......

Denke das ein Blick in den Kommentar von Floyd Norris zum Conference Call auch nicht schaden kann ( siehe The Case of the Missing Month). Um das "positive" Bild von Goldman abzurunden noch ein kleiner Rundumschlag von Barry Ritholtz ( siehe How to Puff Up Earnings, Goldman Sachs Style )......

Goldman’s 2008 fiscal year ended Nov. 30. This year the company is switching to a calendar year. The leaves December as an orphan month, one that will be largely ignored. In Goldman’s news release, and in most of the news reports, the quarter ended March 31 is compared to the quarter last year that ending in February.

The orphan month featured — surprise — lots of writeoffs. The pre-tax loss was $1.3 billion, and the after-tax loss was $780 million.

No surprise to hear this update on via Norris......

Diese Erläuterung hinsichtlich der Aufsicht im Update von Norris dürfte keine wirkliche Überraschung sein.....

What About That Other $28 Billion?

Goldman Sachs, as you know by now, wants to return that $10 billion in TARP money it got. And what about the $28 billion it borrowed in the credit markets with a guarantee from the federal government?

A spokesman tells me that Goldman has no plans to pay that back early. Nor will it say if it would have been profitable had it reported on the quarter ended in February, as it traditionally has.The spokesman did tell me something I would have included in my earlier Goldman blog had I known it, that the change in fiscal year was required when it converted to a bank holding company.

The bank regulators did not, however, force Goldman to avoid any mention of the December orphan month in the text of its earnings release, instead relegating it to a table deep in the announcement.

> What esle do you expect from a regulator that is labeling a giant hedge fund like Goldman as a bank.... ;-)

> Was soll man auch anderes von einem Regulierer erwarten der einen gigantischen Hedge Fonds wie Goldman Sachs den Bankenstatus zuspricht.. ;-)

Congratulation ( NO SARCASM ) to Goldman for placing the shares at $ 123 Goldman Sachs Raises $5 Billion to Repay TARP Funds The same kind of "creative" accounting in 2008 and the stock would have tanked 50 percent withing a day...... But at least this time it is the so called smart money ( lets hope not too many pension funds are involved.... ) and not the taxpayer on the hook.....Clearly a sign that the euphoria level is close to a peak ( Here is more evidence of some kind of exuberance ) .....

Man muß Goldman zu der Dreistigkeit gratulieren ( Diesesmal ohne Augenzwinkern ). Die haben es tatsächlich geschafft Ihre Aktien zu 123 $ zu platzieren ( siehe Goldman Sachs Raises $5 Billion to Repay TARP Funds ). Hätten die es noch vor einem Monat gewagt eigenmächtig Bilanzierungszeitrahmen abzuändern und so den äußerst verlustreichen Dezember praktisch aus dem Blickwinkel der Öffentlichkeit zu "verbannen" hätte sich die Aktie wohl binnen 24 Stunden halbiert...... Hoffe inständig das es noch weitere Unternehmen schaffen private Gelder mit welchen Methoden auch immer an Land zu ziehen..... Dann ist zumindest der Steuerzahler ( vorausgesetzt die Pensionskassen haben sich zurückgehalten ) nicht allein der Dumme....... Denke das zeigt einmal mehr das die aktuelle Marktstimmung etwas zu euphorisch ist Hier ein weiterer Beleg für eine zumindest "ausgelassene" Stimmung.......

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Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Merrill Delivered Bonuses Before BofA Deal

Looks like Thain has manage to find billions to honor a quarterly loss of $ 21.5 billion at the expense of the taxpayer...... The imprudence is just unbelievable.......But with no restrictions from government i don´t know if Thain & Co are really the ones to blame.....? I somewhat surprised that the "outrage" in the public is still muted........ See update at the end of post....

Sieht ganz so aus als wenn Thain es geschafft für sein Unternehmen ohne die Übernahme durch Bank Of America längst Pleite gegangen wäre noch mal ordentlich auf Kosten des US Steuerzahlers abkassiert hat...... Diese Dreistigkeit bei einem Quartalsverlust von $ 21,5 Mrd $ verschlägt einem fast den Atem.... Schön zu sehen das die Bedingungen der Rettungsprogarmme ( TARP ) anscheinend keinerlei Sanktionen beinhalten und so diese Selbstbedienungsmentalität keinerlei Einhalt gebieten....Die wirklich Schuldigen sind also nicht ausschließlich bei Thain & Co zu suchen...... Das ganze wirkt natürlich besonders pervers wenn zur gleichen Zeit Gelder für anderen Industrien nicht oder nur zögerlich bereit gestellt werden..... Ich bin nicht nur in diesem Fall mehr als verwundert das der öffentliche Aufschrei immer noch mehr als verhalten ist...... Beachtet bitte das Update am Ende.....


FT Merrill Lynch took the unusual step of accelerating bonus payments by a month last year, doling out billions of dollars to employees just three days before the closing of its sale to Bank of America.

The timing is notable because the money was paid as Merrill’s losses were mounting and Ken Lewis, BofA’s chief executive, was seeking additional funds from the government’s troubled asset recovery programme to help close the deal

Merrill and BofA shareholders voted to approve the takeover on December 5. Three days later, Merrill’s compensation committee approved the bonuses, which were paid on December 29. In past years, Merrill had paid bonuses later – usually late January or early February, according to company officials.

Within days of the compensation committee meeting, BofA officials said they became aware that Merrill’s fourth-quarter losses would be greater than expected and began talks with the US Treasury on securing additional Tarp money.

Last week, BofA said it would be receiving $20bn in Tarp money, in addition to the $25bn that had been earmarked for it and Merrill last year. It was then revealed that Merrill had suffered a $21.5bn operating loss in the fourth quarter.

Despite the magnitude of the losses, Merrill had set aside $15bn for 2008 compensation, a sum that was only 6 per cent lower than the total in 2007, when the investment bank’s losses were smaller.
The bulk of $15bn in compensation was paid out as salary and benefits throughout the course of the year.
A person familiar with the matter estimated that about $3bn to $4bn was paid out in bonuses in December

Nancy Bush, an analyst with NAB Research, described the size of the 2008 Merrill bonus payments as “ridiculous”.

BofA said: “Merrill Lynch was an independent company until January 1 2009. John Thain (Merrill’s chief executive) decided to pay year-end incentives in December as opposed to their normal date in January. BofA was informed of his decision.”

BofA declined to specify when Mr Thain informed the bank of his decision.

A source familiar with the matter says Mr Thain, in the weeks leading up to the December 8 compensation committee meeting, had been weighing the possibility of requesting a bonus of at least $10m for himself before ultimately deciding against such a move.

UPDATE:

Thain Forced Out, NY Attorney General Cuomo Investigating Merrill Bonuses....

But the noise about Thain's compensation is probably less important than how it unintentionally serves to divert attention from the real issue. Many (all?) of the big players in the financial sector are insolvent, period. Their credit losses (whether marked to market or a realistic cash flow basis) are bigger than their net worth. These firms are therefore wards of the state.

Yet we keep pretending that they are still private concerns, still keep the managements in place that created the mess, still allow them to pay themselves orders of magnitude more than average workers. As we have discussed, this is looting and the looting continues

AMEN! Yves from Naked Capitalism nails it one more..... Another good piece comes from Floy Norris

Amen! Denke Yves von Naked Capitalism sagt es wie es ist..... Floyd Norris steht dem in nichts nach.....

Wall Street Paychecks May Wither

It is one thing when the best-paid people seem to be the smartest and the most accomplished. Those who make much less may not like it, but the differential seems understandable. It is another thing when those people are shown to have committed huge blunders that would have driven their companies out of business, and them into the unemployment line, but for government bailouts.So it is now with Wall Street.

In both Europe and the United States, antipathy toward the bailout is rising amid complaints that the money has not helped the economy by encouraging loans, but has kept the bankers in Champagne and caviar

Financial Sector Wages Relative to Other Industries

I have to reiterate my view that i still think the "outrage" so far is very very "muted"....

Muß mich wiederholen und darauf hinweisen das ich nach wie vor finde das die bisherige "Empörung" noch immer unverständlich gemäßigt ist......

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Sunday, November 23, 2008

U.S. Agrees To Citigroup Bailout

What a start to a week..... I´m running out of words .... Just a few points...... Reminds me of the UBS bailout ( see UBS Transferring $60 Billion in Dud Assets to Swiss National Bank, Raises $5.3 Billion ).....On top of this it is looking more and more like John Hempton was spot on (make sure you read his theory) .....Hat tip Naked Capitalism.... After the structure & terms of this bailout it will almost be impossible to deny any other enquiries ( GM...... )...... UPDATE: Official Term Sheet is out and has some slightly different numbers & details or read the Summary via FT Alphaville



Da mir anhand der tagtäglichen Ungeheuerlichkeiten bald die Worte fehlen möchte ich lediglich sagen das hier wohl Anleihen aus der Schweiz übernommen worden sind ( siehe UBS Transferring $60 Billion in Dud Assets to Swiss National Bank, Raises $5.3 Billion ).... Zudem empfehle ich dringend nachfolgenden Link von John Hempton zu lesen.... Was zum Zeitpunkt des Postings für viele noch ungeheuerlich erschien ist rückblickend fast als genial zu bezeichnen...... Beide Male geht der Dank an Naked Capitalism ... Die Struktur sowie die Bedingungen diese Bailouts achen es unmöglich überhaupt noch eine Anfrage weiterer Bailouts abzulehnen ( GM.... )..... UPDATE: Das offizielle Memo ist veröffentlicht und beinhaltet einige kleine Abweichungen hinsichtlich Summen und Bedingungen. Eine nette Zusammenfassung gibt es von FT Alphaville



WSJ Billions in Toxic Assets May Be Removed; New Phase for Government Bank Rescue

WASHINGTON – The federal government agreed Sunday to take unprecedented steps to stabilize Citigroup Inc. by moving to guarantee close to $300 billion in troubled assets weighing on the bank's books, according to people familiar with details of the plan.

Treasury has agreed to inject an additional $20 billion in capital into Citigroup under terms of the deal hashed out between the bank, the treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Treasury officials will charge a higher interest rate for the capital injection -- 8% for the first few years
-- than it has charged to dozens of other banks now borrowing money under the government's the $700 billion rescue package approved by Congress last month.

In addition to the capital, Citigroup will have an extremely unusual arrangement in which the government agrees to backstop a roughly $300 billion pool of its assets, containing mortgage-backed securities among other things. Citigroup must absorb the first $37 billion to $40 billion in losses from these assets. If losses extend beyond that level, Treasury will absorb the next $5 billion in losses, followed by the FDIC taking on the next $10 billion in losses. Any losses on these assets beyond that level would be taken by the Fed.

Citigroup would also agree to work to modify -- if possible -- troubled mortgages held in the $300 billion pool, using standards created by the FDIC after the collapse of IndyMac Bank.



The government is not expected to require any management changes, as that was seen as potentially being too destabilizing.

Under terms of the agreement, the Treasury Department and FDIC will guarantee $306 billion of Citigroup loans and securities backed by residential and commercial real estate and other assets, which will remain on the bank's balance sheet. Citigroup will absorb the first $29 billion of losses, with the government stepping in after that as "protection against the possibility of unusually large losses."



> Make sure you read Citi of over-leveraging to put Citi´s loss absorbtion into perpective.......



> Empfehle einen Blick auf Citi of over-leveraging um zu erkennen das die Verlustsumme der Citi ein einziger Witz ist.....



Among the conditions that Citigroup agreed to is "an executive compensation plan, including bonuses, that rewards long-term performance and profitability, with appropriate limitations," according to the Treasury Department. Details on the company's compensation "must be submitted to, and approved by" the government. .....



The plan would essentially put the government in the position of insuring a slice of Citigroup's balance sheet.



Another possibility on the table was the creation of what is sometimes called a "bad bank" -- an outside entity designed to hold some of a financial firm's worst assets. That structure would help Citigroup cleanse itself of billions of dollars in weak assets, these people said.



In either case, taxpayers could be on the hook if Citigroup's massive portfolios of mortgage, credit cards, commercial real-estate and big corporate loans continue to sour.



It was unclear Sunday night whether the government would take an additional equity stake in Citigroup in return for the support. Citigroup previously agreed to issue the government preferred shares in return for the $25 billion the bank received as one of the first nine companies to get capital infusions.



If the government sets up the bad-bank structure, the amount of financial support will be a key variable. If there is too little, investors might conclude that the bad assets will wipe it out, leaving the bank right where it was before.



In addition to $2 trillion in assets Citigroup has on its balance sheet, it has another $1.23 trillion in entities that aren't reflected there. Some of those assets are tied to mortgages, and investors have worried they could cause heavy losses if they are brought back on the company's books.
One rescue structure under consideration would resemble aspects of the $150 billion bailout plan the government struck with American International Group Inc. in November. Two vehicles, funded largely by as much as $52.5 billion in government money, were created to take on risks from some of AIG's souring assets, including exposure to credit derivatives. That deal also reduced interest costs on AIG's previously arranged $60 billion loan from the government.



In Citigroup's case, the government's arrangement likely will be able to accommodate only a sliver of the company's more than $3 trillion in assets, including its holdings in off-balance-sheet entities. Jitters about such "hidden" assets helped trigger the nose-dive in Citigroup's stock last week. Among the off-balance-sheet assets are $667 billion in mortgage-related securities.



Citigroup has tried repeatedly to rid itself of its exposure to those assets. In late September, the company reached an agreement for a government-financed acquisition of Wachovia Corp. Under that planned deal, Citigroup and the government were going to divvy up the losses on $312 billion of assets, with Citigroup absorbing the first $30 billion in losses and the government shouldering the remainder.



Citigroup described that arrangement as intended to insulate it from Wachovia's risky mortgage assets. But Citigroup also would have been able to unload some of its own assets, according to people familiar with the matter.



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Sunday, November 16, 2008

Gaming The TARP "Pay $10m, get $3.4bn of funding?"

That is what is happening when you have opened Pandorras Box...... You really cannot blame Hartford for using all the loopholes......

Das passiert folgerichtig wenn man einmal damit angefangen hat Pandorras Box in Form von Markteingriffen auf Wochenbasis zu öffnen..... Ich zumindest mache Hartford nicht den geringsten Vorwurf all die Schlupflöcher zu Lasten der Steuerzahler zu nutzen..... Aus deutscher Sicht besonders erfreulich da sich hier abzeichnet das die Beteiligung der Allianz jetzt doch nicht ganz so schnell gegen Null tendiert ( siehe Postingende )......

Corporate Welfare by R.J. Matson Barry Ritholtz

FT Alphaville

Nov. 14 (Bloomberg) — Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said it’s buying a Florida bank [Federal Trust Bank] for $10 million so the insurer can be eligible for the Treasury rescue program.

Hartford, based in the Connecticut city of the same name, expects to qualify for $1.1 billion to $3.4 billion under Treasury guidelines, the company said in a statement distributed today by Business Wire.
What blatant abuse. From the the statement:

“We are taking these actions as a strong and well-capitalized financial institution looking for maximum flexibility and stability,” said Ramani Ayer, The Hartford’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Securing capital at the terms available through the Capital Purchase Program could be a prudent course in this market environment and would allow us to further supplement our existing capital resources.”
(Translation: Pay $10m, get $3.4bn of funding? Where do we sign?)

> Here are the terms of the Allianz capital investment just 4 weeks ago......

> Nachfolgend die Bedingungen zu denen die Allianz noch vor 4 Wochen Kapital zur Verfügung gestellt hat.....

The Hartford Closes On $2.5 Billion Investment From Allianz SE

The Hartford Financial Services Group, Inc. (NYSE: HIG) today announced the closing of a $2.5 billion capital investment by Allianz SE.

Under the agreement, Allianz has purchased, at $31 per share ( Stock Friday $ 12,65 ), $750 million of preferred shares convertible to common stock after receipt of applicable approvals, and $1.75 billion of 10% junior subordinated debentures.

The debentures are callable by The Hartford at par beginning ten years after issuance. Allianz SE also received warrants which entitle it to purchase $1.75 billion of common stock at an exercise price of $25.32 per share, subject to shareholder approvals. The warrants expire in seven years. The Hartford had announced the deal on October 6.

I want to close this post with a quote from the WSJ that isn´t quite "promising".....

Am besten beendet man dieses Posting mit einem Zitat aus dem WSJ das einen nicht gerade hoffnungsvoll in die ZUkunft schauen lässt......

Congress: Treasury Messed Up the Bailout. Let’s Give it More Power.

So says Congress: Treasury has done a terrible job of managing the bailout. That’s why Treasury should get expanded authority — for instance, to approve bank mergers.

Such paradoxical statements make perfect sense to some Congressional leaders, including New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer

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