Showing posts with label Banking Addiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Banking Addiction. Show all posts

Thursday, October 23, 2008

"But, Breakingviews wonders, as it really such a tragedy?"

More on Lehman being saved on the NY Times:

"Lehman’s bankruptcy may have been precisely the wake-up call that governments needed, according to the publication. It notes that the bank’s failure also terrified the banking industry so much that it was prepared to drink some pretty unpleasant medicine, though everything that the authorities have done has not been perfect.

The broad approach of stuffing the banks with capital and getting them off their addiction to short-term borrowing doesn’t just seem to have brought the immediate panic to an end. It is also helping to put the industry’s finances onto a healthier longer-term footing, it says

So, Breakingviews concludes, Lehman’s bankruptcy may not have been a ghastly error after all. It’s too early to be sure. But history may ultimately conclude it was more like a very lucky mistake."

Here's my reply:

“Lehman’s bankruptcy may have been precisely the wake-up call that governments needed, according to the publication. It notes that the bank’s failure also terrified the banking industry so much that it was prepared to drink some pretty unpleasant medicine, though everything that the authorities have done has not been perfect.”

No. Lehman caused a crisis because investors thought the implicit government guarantees to intervene might not be honored. I don’t like it, but had the governments not intervened this time, it would have caused a veritable meltdown, precisely because the banking industry was completely unprepared to deal with this crisis on its own.

— Posted by Don the libertarian Democrat

Thursday, October 16, 2008

A Banking Addiction?

From the NY Times:

"Banks and dealers' overall direct borrowings from the Fed averaged a record $437.53 billion per day in the week ended October 15, topping the previous week's $420.16 billion per day.

Some analysts are concerned that banks' dependence on Fed lending might become long term and difficult to change.

"The banking system is going to become addicted to this very cheap money. Unwinding it will be very difficult," said Howard Simons, strategist with Bianco Research in Chicago.

"We have effectively allowed the central banks to disintermediate the banking system. Why would I want to borrow from you if I could do it with the central bank, because they can always print it up and say 'here'...and they are in the business now of making sure I stay in business," Simons said."

I'm glad we considered this problem before doing it. Jeez.