5/21/2010

Banking isn't Boring



Syracuse University students greeted banking graduation speaker with a blow up doll today.
Merkley-Levin Amendment summary (as it remains) in the Reform Bill:
1. Bank traders can no longer act like hedge funds.
2. Financial firms will not be able to bet against their own customers.
3. Banks will still be able to securitize loans.
4. Banks will be able to hold clients money but not use bank funds.
   Goldman, JPMorgan, and others will have time to sell off these accounts/
   Divest of accounts they managed with bank dough.
5. Non-banks can gamble, trade, and bet against their own customers, but they must create cash accounts against their speculations.

The Germans no more “nakedshorting”  (gambing of short selling bank stocks without having cash in an account to cover) badly spun the stock market by surprise yesterday.
Germany came out today with approving a huge bailout program for the weak members of the EU, this calmed our stock market fears a little.

So will the banking reform bill be a ping-pong match in the coming weeks?