Posted on 08/29/2009 8:49:03 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
When the credit crisis struck last year, federal regulators pumped tens of billions of dollars into the nation's leading financial institutions because the banks were so big that officials feared their failure would ruin the entire financial system.
Today, the biggest of those banks are even bigger.
The crisis may be turning out very well for many of the behemoths that dominate U.S. finance. A series of federally arranged mergers safely landed troubled banks on the decks of more stable firms. And it allowed the survivors to emerge from the turmoil with strengthened market positions, giving them even greater control over consumer lending and more potential to profit.
J.P. Morgan Chase, an amalgam of some of Wall Street's most storied institutions, now holds more than $1 of every $10 on deposit in this country. So does Bank of America, scarred by its acquisition of Merrill Lynch and partly government-owned as a result of the crisis, as does Wells Fargo, the biggest West Coast bank. Those three banks, plus government-rescued and -owned Citigroup, now issue one of every two mortgages and about two of every three credit cards, federal data show.
A year after the near-collapse of the financial system last September, the federal response has redefined how Americans get mortgages, student loans and other kinds of credit and has made a national spectacle of executive pay. But no consequence of the crisis alarms top regulators more than having banks that were already too big to fail grow even larger and more interconnected.
"It is at the top of the list of things that need to be fixed," said Sheila C. Bair, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. "It fed the crisis, and it has gotten worse because of the crisis."
Regulators' concerns are twofold....
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
*PONG*
That ol’ “share the weatlth” thing sure went through, just in a different direction. (And there ain’t any sharing).
Are you doing business with any of these big banks? If so..why? Get into a credit union or a local bank or banks to make sure you have good diversification.
There is no reason to be doing business with them..they don’t offer anything you can’t get cheaper elsewhere.
They only sell the mortgages like commodities..there credit card terms are the worst..they charge big fees for everything. Particularily move your deposits..
My mother died recently and I went to the bank to close out a joint account I had with her. While the guy was closing and reopening the account I asked them if they had received any bailout money, I already knew the answer before I asked. He said no and asked me why I wanted to know. I flatly stated that I will do absolutely no business with any company that I know took bailout money. They got my money once they will never receive a voluntary dime from me.
He just smiled and said he had heard that before.
Are you doing business with any of these big banks? If so..why?
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No, HELL no!!!!!!!!!! I detest Bank of America. I use 2 local banks.
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