In a discussion that I had over at ZeroHedge there came the topic of whether bank runs are possible in Europe. Well, I believe we've already had some devastating one's (ex. Northern Rock) but if one takes the continent only or the EZ in particular, we still have a significant systemic threat. The gist behind the argument is that if the true economic capital is weakened to the point that depositors/creditors/counterparties make a run for it, the sovereign nation in which it is domiciled will simply nationalize it. Hmmm... Let's take a look at how that might work out, as excerpted from Overbanked, Underfunded, and Overly Optimistic: The New Face of Sovereign Europe March 2010

I will attempt to illustrate the "Overbanked" argument and its ramifications for the mid-tier sovereign nations in detail below and over a series of additional posts.

Sovereign Risk Alpha: The Banks Are Bigger Than Many of the Sovereigns

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Imagine the Swiss nationalizing just UBS and Credit Suisse, whose assets constitute 500% of the Swiss GDP. THAT'S JUST TWO BANKS!!! Imagine if the entire banking system got into trouble from daisy chaining European defaults??? 

This is just a sampling of individual banks whose assets dwarf the GDP of the nations in which they're domiciled. To make matters even worse, leverage is rampant in Europe, even after the debacle which we are trying to get through has shown the risks of such an approach. A sudden deleveraging can wreak havoc upon these economies. Keep in mind that on an aggregate basis, these banks are even more of a force to be reckoned with. I have identified Greek banks with adjusted leverage of nearly 90x whose assets are nearly 30% of the Greek GDP, and that is without factoring the inevitable run on the bank that they are probably experiencing. Throw in the hidden NPAs that I cannot discern from my desk in NY, and you have a bank that has problems, levered into a country that has even more problems.

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If BoomBustBloggers remember, I went on a tear with my theory of European bank runs last summer. Reference:

• The Anatomy Of A European Bank Run: Look At The Banking Situation BEFORE The Run Occurs!
• The Fuel Behind Institutional “Runs on the Bank” Burns Through Europe, Lehman-Style!
• On Your Mark, Get Set, (Bank) Run! The D…
• The Mechanics Behind Setting Up A Potential European Bank Run Trade and European Bank Run Trading Supplement

I strongly suggest that any interested in the topic peruse the links above if they haven't already done so. They drive the point home. And on the topic of Greece and bank runs, ZH runs Greek Bank Deposit Outflows Soar In January, Third Largest Ever

According to just released data from the Bank of Greece, January saw Greeks doing what they do best (in addition to striking of course): pulling their money from local banks, after a near record €5.3 billion, or the third highest on record, was withdrawn from the local banking system. As a result, total bank cash has now dropped to just €169 billion, down from €174 billion in December, and the lowest since 2006. This is an 18% decline from a year ago, or €37 billion less than the €206 billion last January, and is a whopping 30% lower than the all time deposit highs from 2007, as nearly €70 billion in cash has quietly either left the country or been parked deep in the local mattress bank.

Were the big Greek banks effectively nationalized already? Don't the depositors and counterparties/creditors know that Bank of Greece and the ECB have their backs. I mean, come on now. Paranoia is simply going too far. MG Global account holders may be getting some of their monies back, as is somebody who had an account somewhere in Lehman. I remember when I made this warning about Bear Stearns back in January of 2008 (2 months before Bear Stearns fell, while trading in the $100s and still had buy ratings and investment grade AA or better from the ratings agencies). Nobody wanted to listen: Is this the Breaking of the Bear?

Once again, do I have a crystal ball??? Or just a spreadsheet??? After all, the ECB just injected a record amount of junk collateral backed, near ZIRP liquidity into the European banking system - Helicopter Ben style - a half trillion Euro worth, or 3/4 trillion dollars or so. And to think, many believe Hip Hop music and iPhones to be one of the biggest US exports:-) Of course, everybody on the sell side sees this as bullish - reference Cascade is to Domino as Greece is to Por… and Does Anyone See This Emergency As An Eme… for a more common sense approach to this ECB bailout of bailouts. As for just why such a massive liquidity injection was necessary? Well, as this excerpt from the subscriber edition of the BNP Paribas report is marked...

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'Nuff said! Subscribers, as (not if, but as) this breaks, these are the companies trading at the valuations that are most shortable/profitable in my opinion...

US CRE

• US REIT Fire Sale Scenario Analysis
   US REIT Foreclosure Scenario Analysis
•  US REIT Sample Property Valuation
•  US REIT Cashflows and Debt Preliminary Analysis

European Insurance

•  Insurer Report_122511 - Professional/Institutional edition
•  Insurer Report_122511 -Retail edition

European CRE (this one is a bit dated)

•   Debt Analysis, Blog Subscriber Edition
•  Preliminary Download

European banking

Haircuts, Derivative Risks and Valuation

And the cat that was already let out of the bag...

BNP Exposures - Professional Subscriber Download Version

BNP Exposures - Retail Subscriber Download Version

BNP Exposures - Free Public Download Version

 French Bank Run Forensic Thoughts - Addendum and Update

 

Today's big headline from Bloomberg: Euro-Area Banks Tap ECB for Record Amount of Three-Year Cash

Euro-area banks tapped the European Central Bank for a record amount of three-year cash in an operation that may boost bond and equity markets.

The Frankfurt-based ECB said today it will lend 800 financial institutions 529.5 billion euros ($712.2 billion) for 1,092 days. Economists predicted an allotment of 470 billion euros, according to the median of 28 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. In the ECB’s first three-year operation in December, 523 banks borrowed 489 billion euros.

So, basically, nearly twice as many banks are in trouble now as compared to just three months ago. This is bullish, right???!!!

“The astonishing number this time is the number of banks participating, which signals that a lot more small banks looked for the money and it is likely they will pass it on to the economy,” said Laurent Fransolet, head of fixed income strategy Barclays Capital in London, who estimates about 300 billion euros of the total is new lending. “So the impact may be bigger than with the first one.”

I'm not familiar with the quality and/or strength of the shit they smoke over there in London, but from the looks of things it appears to be potent enough. Let's take this bloke's comment to hear, "it is likely they will pass it on to the economy,” . Okay, now where do I begin? Exactly how much of first LTRO made it into the actual economy versus being hoarded by the banks? Is the "pass[ing] it on the the economy" the reason why there is now so much liquidity in European CRE? Here's a quick reminder of where I stand on this...

So, it's safe to say that all of those European REITs and real estate concerns with property mortgages coming up for renewal while underwater will definitively see most of that LTRO 2 money, right? Let's all take a deep breath and hold it as we wait for that one to happen. Ready? One... Two... Three...

What do you think, pray tell, happens when the liquidity starved, capital deprived, over leveraged banks fail to roll over all of that underwater Eu mortgage debt?

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Investors seeking safety in Germany, the UK and France may truly be in for a rude awakening!

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Reggie Middleton Featured in Property EU, one of Europes leading real estate publicatios

Those who wish to download the full article in PDF format can do so here: Reggie Middleton on Stagflation, Sovereign Debt and the Potential for bank Failure at the ING ACADEMY-v2.

In continuing with my rant on the absurdity of even pretending the Greek situation is salvageable or that Greece will somehow be bailed out without a near complete absolution of their debts, I  bring forth from the BoomBustBlog archives the Sovereign Contagion Model. For those who haven't read my most posts on this topic, please review The Ugly Truth About The Greek Situation That's Too Difficult Broadcast Through Mainstream Media and Grecian Tragedy Formula, Bailout Number 3.

It is my contention that Greece's significant default is a forgone conclusion. It is also my contention that media attention should be much more focused on the damage to be done by a Greek default - considerably more so than whether Greece will ultimately default of not or what type of bailout it may or may not recieve. I have been of this mindset for several years which is why I had my analyst team create the Sovereign Contagion Model below.

foreign claims of PIIGS

I've decided to go through a portion of the model and subset of its output to spark a real, realistic discussion in the media (I will discuss this on Capital Account via RT [Russian Television] live, today at 4:30 pm, re-airs at 7:30pm).

Summary of the methodology

• We have followed a bottom-up approach wherein we have first identified the countries/regions with high financial risk either owing to rising sovereign risk (ballooning government debt and fiscal deficit) or structural issues including remnants from the asset bubble collapse, declining GDP, rising unemployment, current account deficits, etc. For the purpose of our analysis, we have selected PIIGS, CEE, Middle East (UAE and Kuwait), China and closely related countries (Korea and Malaysia), the US and UK as the trigger points of the financial risk dissemination across the analysed developed countries.
• In order to quantify the financial risk emanating in the selected regions (trigger points), we looked into the probability of the risk event happening due to three factors - a) government default b) private sector default c) social unrest. The probabilities for each factor were arrived on the basis of a number of variables determining the relative weakness of the country. The aggregate risk event probability for each country (trigger point) is the average of the risk event probability due to the three factors.
• Foreign claims of the developed countries against the trigger point countries were taken as the relevant exposure. The exposures of each developed country were expressed as % of its respective GDP in order to build a relative scale for inter-country comparison.
• The risk event probability of the trigger point countries was multiplied by the respective exposure of the developed countries to arrive at the total risk weighted exposure of each developed country.
• Sovereign Contagion Model - Retail - contains introduction, methodology summary, and findings
• Sovereign Contagion Model - Pro & Institutional - contains all of the above as well as a very detailed methodology map that explains what went into the model across dozens of countries.

What happens when you take the raw public debt exposure and you massage it for reality? Well, BoomBustBlog subscribers already know. Here's a sneak peak of just one such scenario...

(Click to enarge)

 thumb_Sovereign_Contagion_Model_-_Pro__Institutional_demonstration_of_Greek_default

This is a scenario of a 96% chance of a Greek default, which naturally daisy chains along the EU corridor. Why do I say "naturally daisy chains" you query? Well, to begin with, the leveraged holdings of Greek bonds will take a massive, mark to market recognized loss - except for possibly the ECB who holds the most since that institution feels it can rewrite the rules. Bond investors levereaged 10 to 60 percent taking a 75%+ loss on an unlevered basis are not just underwater, they are deep sea fishing.

Then there's the human nature reality that if/once Greece defaults and does not get absolutely obliterated, other nations will wonder why they should suffer through extreme austerity measures while Greece defaults and gets to start over without paying back its debt. Hey, if he doesn't have to honor his loans, why should I? That means Portugal and Ireland will be quite reticent to suffer through high debt service and austerity while Greece doesn't.

Even if point the point above does not come to fruition (eventhough it probably would), EU-wide austerity is the same as a great recession or depression - on topr of historically unprecedented debt service. A simple glance at history reveals default is much, much wiser than suffering through a decade of austerity. Don't believe me, ask the fastest growing economy in the EU, Iceland. Don't forget to look up why Iceland is one of the fastest growing economy in the EU block as well - and they are not even in the EU. Oh yeah, that's right! They defaulted on their debt and moved forward.

Take the above into consideration as you read this article published by Bloomberg today:

Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, Commerzbank AG (CBK) of Germany and France’s Credit Agricole SA booked losses on their Greek government debt two days after creditors agreed to the biggest sovereign restructuring in history.

RBS, Britain’s biggest government-owned lender, posted a wider-than-expected full-year loss after taking a sovereign-debt impairment of 1.1 billion pounds ($1.7 billion). Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest lender, booked a 700 million-euro ($1.1 billion) writedown on Greek debt in the fourth quarter. Credit Agricole, France’s third-largest bank, reported a quarterly loss after 220 million euros in impairments on Greek debt.

Dexia SA and Allianz SE (ALV) also announced Greek writedowns today. The nation’s private creditors agreed to a debt swap on Feb. 21, paving the way for a second bailout and averting what Deutsche Bank AG Chief Executive Officer Josef Ackermann said would have been a “meltdown” worse than the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

“Earnings were hit by Greek writedowns, but at least the worst is now behind us,” said Lutz Roehmeyer, who helps oversee about 11.5 billion euros at Landesbank Berlin Investment in Germany’s capital. “By aggressively writing down their holdings, banks want to show that they can cope even if Greece defaults down the road.”

RBS, Commerzbank and Credit Agricole (ACA) have all written down their Greek debt by at least 74 percent, in line with estimated losses in the securities’ net present value from the swap.

Hmmmm! Where have we heard this before?

... RBS shares jumped 4.8 percent to 28.63 pence as of 12:06 p.m. in London on optimism that Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hester has completed the worst of the writedowns and as demand recovered at its U.S. business.

... Allianz (ALV), Europe’s biggest insurer, posted fourth-quarter earnings that missed estimates as the Munich-based company booked 1.9 billion euros of non-operating impairments on Greek sovereign debt and investments, particularly in financials, for the year.

The insurer wrote down its Greek bonds to market values at the end of 2011, representing 24.7 percent of their nominal value. Shares of Allianz were up 0.8 percent to 90.57 euros.

Dexia, the Belgian lender being broken up, reported a record loss of 11.6 billion euros today. Its writedowns on Greek sovereign debt totaled 3.61 billion euros last year, including 1.25 billion euros of impairments taken by its former Belgian bank unit before it was sold on Oct. 20. In addition, Dexia (DEXB) wrote down an additional 1.01 billion euros on derivative contracts tied to the Greek debt.

... Europe’s largest lenders and insurers are likely to accede to the Greek swap because they’ve already written down their sovereign holdings and want to avert the risk of a default, analysts said earlier this week. The success of the swap depends on how many investors participate in the transaction.

Under the deal, investors will forgive 53.5 percent of their principal and exchange their remaining holdings for new Greek government bonds and notes from the European Financial Stability Facility. The plan seeks to reduce Greece’s debt burden by 107 billion euros, the Institute of International Finance, which led negotiations, said earlier this week. The swap is meant to help reduce the country’s debt to 120.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2020.

Will debt at 120% of GDP work for a country thrown into its deepest recession ever by austerity measures? Will anyone know what will happen three years out, not to mention 8 years out as declared by this story? Referencing the interactive spreadsheet published earlier this week - The Ugly Truth About The Greek Situation That'sToo Difficult Broadcast Through Mainstream Media:

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As the premise to this story goes, this is definitely not about just Greece.  Let's review the contagion chart once again...

thumb_Sovereign_Contagion_Model_-_Pro__Institutional_demonstration_of_Greek_default

1. Australia is heavily levered into China, and any who follow me know how I feel about China. There's also speculation of an Aussi Bubble Video to Go With Your Aussie Bubble Speculation?
2. Austria and Belgium are highly exposed, yet never mentioned in the media
3. France, held hostage by its socialist stance to its over-leveraged banks - see "BoomBust BNP Paribas?"For those not familiar with the banking book vs trading book markdown game, I urge you to review this keynote presentation given in Amsterdam which predicted this very scenario, and reference the blog post and research of the same:
   • a research note to subscribers,  The Inevitability of Another Bank Crisis,
   • followed by blog posts on the same, see Is Another Banking Crisis Inevitable?, as excerpted...
4. Ireland heavily levered into the UK whose banking system NPA's represent 9% of GDP!
5. Germany, the penthouse suite lessor of the Roach Motel, and potentially the biggest threat to Europe? See The Biggest Threat To The 2012 Economy Is??? Not What Wall Street Is Telling You...
6. Japan: Highest debt outside of Zimbabwe, will force Japan to sell holdings to manage debt, driving up interest rates worldwide??? 

I can go on, but I think many have already got the message.

Bloomberg reports: Morgan Stanley, UBS, Goldman May Be Cut by Moody’s

Quote:

UBS AG, Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN) and Morgan Stanley’s credit ratings may be cut by as many as three levels by Moody’s Investors Service, which is reviewing 17 banks and securities firms with global capital markets operations.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Citigroup Inc. (C) are among companies that may be downgraded by two levels, Moody’s said in a statement, adding that the “guidance is indicative only.” Moody’s today cut some European insurers’ ratings based on risks stemming from the region’s sovereign debt crisis.

... Barclays Plc (BARC), BNP Paribas SA, Credit Agricole SA, HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA), Macquarie Group Ltd. (MQG) and Royal Bank of Canada may also be cut by two levels, Moody’s said. Bank of America Corp. (BAC), Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Societe Generale SA may be lowered by one grade, it said.

So, now others may start "Hunting the Squid", looking at JPM Morgan as the sovereign entity that it wants to be and DB as the leveraged powder keg that it appears. Then there's BNP, HSBC and BofA. You heard it all here first. Despite that, the MSM has put analysts in the consistent spotlight who I feel (without intending to disrespect them, of course) have been serially incorrect on banks. I have addressed this in my blog posts, namely Question the Quality Of BoomBustBlog Bank Research, Will You? Bove and Fitch Follow "The Blog"! and CNBC Favorite Dick Bove Admits To Being Wrong On Banks, But For The Right Reasons, But Those Reasons Are Still Wrong!!!

Well, CNBC has invited me to do a full hour on their show tomorrow for the halftime report (12pm to 1pm) knowing full well I am probably the biggest contrarian that channel has ever seen. Stay tuned, it should be interesting. I will provide some downloadable valuation models companies and/or sovereigns for my readers to play with to facilitate conversation and get the tweets/emails going during the show - hopefully in my next post later on today.

Now, back to Bloomberg's report and banking, let's recap...

Goldman

The hardest hitting investment banking research available focusing on Goldman Sachs (the Squid), but before you go on, be sure you have read parts 1.2. and 3: 

1. I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On A Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction
2. Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?"
3. Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Market Perceptions of Real Risk in Goldman Sachs

So, what else can go wrong with the Squid? 

Plenty! In Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?" I included a graphic that illustrated Goldman's raw credit exposure...

So, what is the logical conclusion? More phallic looking charts of blatant, unbridled, and from a realistic perspective, unhedged RISK starring none other than Goldman Sachs...

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And to think, many thought that JPM exposure vs World GDP chart was provocative. I query thee, exactly how will GS put a real workable hedge, a counterparty risk mitigating prophylactic if you will, over that big green stalk that is representative of Total Credit Exposure to Risk Based Capital? Short answer, Goldman may very well be to big for a counterparty condom. If that's truly the case, all of you pretty, brand name Goldman counterparties out there (and yes, there are a lot of y'all - GS really gets around), expect to get burned at the culmination of that French banking party
I've been talking about for the last few quarters. Oh yeah, that perpetually printing clinic also known as the Federal Reserve just might be running a little low on that cheap liquidity antibiotic... Just
giving y'all a heads up ahead of time...

And for those who may not be sure of the significance, please review my presenation as the Keynote Speaker at the ING Real Estate Valuation Seminar in Amsterdam, below. After all, for all intents and purposes, Dexia has officially collapsed - [CNBC] France, Belgium Pledge Aid for Struggling Dexia... and its a good chance that it's a matter of time before BNP follows suit - exactly as BoomBustBlog predicted for paying subsccribers way back in July.

A step by step tutorial on exactly how it will happen....

• The Mechanics Behind Setting Up A Potential European Bank Run Trade and European Bank Run Trading Supplement
• What Happens When That Juggler Gets Clumsy?
• Let's Walk The Path Of A Potential Pan-European Bank Run, Then Construct Trades To Profit From Such
• The Anatomy Of A European Bank Run: Look At The Banking Situation BEFORE The Run Occurs!
• The Fuel Behind Institutional “Runs on the Bank” Burns Through Europe, Lehman-Style!
• Multiple Botched and Mismanaged Stress Test Have Created The Makings Of A Pan-European Bank Run 
• France, As Most Susceptible To Contagion, Will See Its Banks Suffer
• Observations Of French Markets From A Trader's Perspective
• On Your Mark, Get Set, (Bank) Run! The D…
• ECB As European Lender Of Last Resort = Institutional Purveyor Of A Pan-European Ponzi Scheme

 The European banking debacle was predicted at the start of 2010, a full year and a half before this has come to a head. If I could have seen it so clearly, why couldn't the banking industry and its regulators?

Now, back to GS, and considering all of the European falllout coming down the pike, of which Goldman is heavily leveraged into, particulary France (say BNP/Dexia/etc.)...

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Let's go over exactly how GS is exposed following the logic outlined in the graphic before this series of videos, as excerpted from subscriber document Goldmans Sachs Derivative Exposure: The Squid in the Coal Mine?, pages 3,4 and 5.

GS__Banks_Derivatives_exposure_temp_work_Page_3

Bank of America

Bank of America Lynch[ing this] CountryWide's Equity Is Likely Worthless and It Will Rape FDIC Insured Accounts Going Bust

Warning! This is going to be a highly, highly controversial post. It is long, it is thick with information, and it hits HARD! Thus if you are easily offended by pretty women, intellectually aggressive brothers in cognitive war garb, your government regulators selling you out to the highest European bidder, or the cold hard facts borne from world class research that you can't find from the sell side or the mainstream media, I strongly suggest you stop reading here and move on. There is nothing further for you to see. As for all others, please keep in mind that I warned of Bank of America Lynch[ing this] CountryWide's swap exposure through a subscriber document on Thursday, 01 October 2009, then went public with it shortly thereafter.

There has been a lot of feedback and emails emanating from the last RT/Capital Accounts interview that I did earlier this week, as well as it should be. The dilemma is that I don't think the viewership is taking the topic seriously enough. I explicitly said, on air, that the Federal Reserve endorsed this country's most dangerous bank in shifting its most toxic assets directly onto the back of the US taxpayer through their most sacrosanct liquid assets, their bank accounts. In addition, when the shit hits the fan, those very same assets will be second in line for recovery, for the derivative counterparties will get first grabs.

Now, maybe its due to the fact that the interviewer was a cutie, or my voice was too deep, or because I didn't appear in my superhero garb, but I really don' think the message was driven home by the interview that I gave on Russian TV's Capital Account introductory show last week. So, let's try this again, but this time instead of donning that suit and tie, I go as that most unlikely of financial superheroes...

To begin with, for those who did not see the Capital Accounts interview on Russian Television, here it is...

Next, we need to see just how pertinent being 2nd in line is in the liquidation of an insolvent investment bank. I do mean insolvent. Yes, I know the big name brand investors who don't look like that rather unconventional superhero standing in front of the Squid headquarters above may believe that BAC has value, but I have told you since 2008, and I'll tell you now - the equity of Bank of America Lynch[ing this] CountryWide is effectively worth less than zero! Yeah, I know, many of those name brand analysts espoused in the mainstream media disagree, and to each their own, but several of Bank of America Lynch[ing this] CountryWide's latest acquisitions, ex. Countrywide, Merrill Lynch, etc. were enough to make it insolvent. Add several negative numbers together and do you think a little financial engineering is going to give you a positive number??? A little common damn sense is all that is needed to fill the bill here.

That $6 you see quoted on your equity screens is a freebie, a giveaway, and not indicative of economic book value in my opinion. Then again, I could be wrong, but I was correct on practically every major bank, insurance and real estate co. failure in the US over the last 4 years, as well as predicting many of the European ones. See Did Reggie Middleton, a Blogger at BoomBustBlog, Best Wall Streets Best of the Best?

BNP Paribas

BoomBust BNP Paribas? as excerpted...

For those not familiar with the banking book vs trading book markdown game, I urge you to review this keynote presentation given in Amsterdam which predicted this very scenario, and reference the blog post and research of the same:

• a research note to subscribers,  The Inevitability of Another Bank Crisis,
• followed by blog posts on the same, see Is Another Banking Crisis Inevitable?, as excerpted...

But wait, there's more - much more!

BNP_Paribus_First_Thoughts_4_Page_04

BNP_Paribus_First_Thoughts_4_Page_05

BNP_Paribus_First_Thoughts_4_Page_06

BNP_Paribus_First_Thoughts_4_Page_07

JP Morgan

Do you remember my recent missive "There’s Something Fishy at the House of Morgan"? Well, in it I queried how it was that JP Morgan can continuously pull risk provisions and reserves to pad quarterly accounting earnings at time when I not only made clear that we are in a real estate depression but the facts actually played out the same. As excerpted from the aforementioned article:

I invite all to peruse the mainstream financial media and sell side Wall Street's take on JP Morgan's Q1 earnings before reading through my take. Pray thee tell me, why is there such a distinct difference? Below are excerpts from the our review of JP Morgan's Q1 results, available to paying subscribers (including valuation and scenario analysis): JPM Q1 2011 Review & Analysis.

I have warned of this event. JP Morgan (as well as Bank of America) is literally a litigation sinkhole. See JP Morgan Purposely Downplayed Litigation Risk That Spiked 5,000% Last Year & Is Still Severely Under Reserved By Over $4 Billion!!! Shareholder Lawyers Should Be Scrambling Now Wednesday, March 2nd, 2011.

This piece has always been a classic: An Independent Look into JP Morgan

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Cute graphic above, eh? There is plenty of this in the public preview. When considering the staggering level of derivatives employed by JPM, it is frightening to even consider the fact that the quality of JPM's derivative exposure is even worse than Bear Stearns and Lehman‘s derivative portfolio just prior to their fall. Total net derivative exposure rated below BBB and below for JP Morgan currently stands at 35.4% while the same stood at 17.0% for Bear Stearns (February 2008) and 9.2% for Lehman (May 2008). We all know what happened to Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, don't we??? I warned all about Bear Stearns (Is this the Breaking of the Bear?: On Sunday, 27 January 2008) and Lehman ("Is Lehman really a lemming in disguise?": On February 20th, 2008) months before their collapse by taking a close, unbiased look at their balance sheet. Both of these companies were rated investment grade at the time, just like "you know who". Now, I am not saying JPM is about to collapse, since it is one of the anointed ones chosen by the government and guaranteed not to fail - unlike Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and it is (after all) investment grade rated. Who would you put your faith in, the big ratings agencies or your favorite blogger? Then again, if it acts like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, is it a chicken??? I'll leave the rest up for my readers to decide.

This public preview is the culmination of several investigative posts that I have made that have led me to look more closely into the big money center banks. It all started with a hunch that JPM wasn't marking their WaMu portfolio acquisition accurately to market prices (see Is JP Morgan Taking Realistic Marks on its WaMu Portfolio Purchase? Doubtful! ), which would very well have rendered them insolvent - particularly if that was the practice for the balance of their portfolio as well (see Re: JP Morgan, when I say insolvent, I really mean insolvent). I then posted the following series, which eventually led to me finally breaking down and performing a full forensic analysis of JP Morgan, instead of piece-mealing it with anecdotal analysis.

1. The Fed Believes Secrecy is in Our Best Interests. Here are Some of the Secrets
2. Why Doesn't the Media Take a Truly Independent, Unbiased Look at the Big Banks in the US?
3. As the markets climb on top of one big, incestuous pool of concentrated risk...
4. Any objective review shows that the big banks are simply too big for the safety of this country
5. Why hasn't anybody questioned those rosy stress test results now that the facts have played out?

You can download the public preview here. If you find it to be of interest or insightful, feel free to distribute it (intact) as you wish.

JPM Public Excerpt of Forensic Analysis Subscription 2009-09-18 00:56:22 488.64 Kb

Traditional banking revenues: manifest destiny as forwarned - Weakening Revenue Streams in US Banks Will Make Them More Susceptible To Contingent Risks

Morgan Stanley

'Nuff said! Let's move over to Morgan Stanley... The Truth Is Revealed About The Riskiest Bank On The Street - What Does That Say About The Newest Bank To Carry That Title? You know, I'm still quite bearish on Asian, European and American banks. Just look at the facts as they're laid before you...

• Squids, Morgans & Counterparty Risk: Blowing Up The World One Tentacle At A Time

• Is The Entire Global Banking Industry Carrying Naked, Unhedged "Risk Free" Sovereign Debt Yielding 100-200%? Quick Answer: Probably!

 HSBC

Subscribers, see the lastest research: HSBC Haircuts, Derivative Risks and Valuation. I prefer not to excerpt this material, but this post is lengthy and rich enough as it is. The archives are rich on this company as well...

HSBC_Holdings_Report_04August2008 - pro

HSBC_Holdings_Report_04August2008 - retail

My take on Moody's itself...

Interesting Documentary on the Power of Rating Agencies, Reggie Middleton Excerpts 

I have also warned extensively on the other nations that Moody's is just now getting to stripping, and will address them in detail in a separate post. In the meantime, this is a good time to bring up that Interesting Documentary on the Power of Rating Agencies, with Reggie Middleton Excerpts

See also, What Is More Valuable, The Opinion Of A Major Rating Agency Or The Opinion Of A Blog? Go Ahead, I DARE You To Answer!

Banking problems are inevitable as long as policymakers, regulators and central bankers insist on try to control the economic circle of life.

The result of this “Great Global Macro Experiment” is a market crash that never completed. BoomBustBlog subscribers should reference The Inevitability of Another Bank Crisis while non-subscribers should see Is Another Banking Crisis Inevitable? as well as The True Cause Of The 2008 Market Crash Looks Like Its About To Rear Its Ugly Head Again, With A Vengeance. All four corners of the globe are currently “hobbling along on one leg”, under the pretense of a “global recovery”.

Reminisce while traipsing through our real estate analysis and research:

1. 1. On Employment and Real Estate Recovery Monday, April 25th, 2011
   2. A First In The History Of Mainstream Media? NAR Is Identified As A Joke! Tuesday, March 29th, 2011
2. The True Cause Of The 2008 Market Crash Looks Like Its About To Rear Its Ugly Head Again, With A Vengeance Friday, March 11th, 2011
   1. Reggie Middleton ON CNBC’s Fast Money Discussing Hopium in Real Estate Friday, February 25th, 2011
3. Further Proof Of The Worsening Of The Real Estate DepressionThursday, February 24th, 2011
   1. In Case You Didn’t Get The Memo, The US Is In a Real Estate Depression That Is About To Get Much Worse Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
4. When Will the Mainstream Media Be Ready To Call The NAR The Sham That It Really Is? Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011

Those who wish to jump on the gravy train of our next US bank analysis featuring those susceptible to this malaise can subcribe here and now!

The many ways to reach Reggie Middleton:

Or simply email me.

This post is dedicated to those who do not see the obvious due to name brand blindness. It came about from a conversation that I had with two other prominent financial bloggers/advisors/asset managers who not only have a lot of respect for my contrarian accuracy in the past (Ex. Goldman, Research in Motion, Google, Bear Stearns, Europe, etc.), but are in near complete agreement with my analysis (the real analysis, behind the paywall) of Apple. When asked why they

don't review their opinions and findings more vocally in the media and their respective sites, they literally stated that they were reticent, if not outright intimidated by the cult-like deluge of Apple fanatiism that was sure to follow. Now, that is a damn shame. Those that run new media sites are actually being censored through intimidation. Well, as you may realze, the boy from Brooklyn loves to dance, so here we go...

In 2008 I warned my readers and subscription clients not to be blinded by brand names:

February 2008: Are you hooked on name brands? and As I was harping on relying on Name Brands..., as excerpted - 

It's been a busy day and I haven't had a chance to get to the blog. As all know, I've been quite bearish and I believe that the end of the beginning may be here soon. That means a true bear market where truly significant losses are common place for years on end, with intermittent bull runs. This is where value investors get burned because they can't tell the difference between value and price. Just because something is a lot cheaper doesn't mean it is a good value. Value is price as a function of future reward, not just a low price. There are some pretty big names that fell into this trap, primarily due to a lack of respect for macro shocks that stem from the residential/credit market crash. I have been very bearish on nearly everything that is connected to the macro crash, and I am basically a value investor.

... The reason I bring these points up is because I have been told several times by several individuals that because XYZ "brand name" investor has bought into ABC company that I am bearish on I had better cover, or I don't know what I'm doing, or blah, blah, blahhhhh!!!

... So, to make a short story long - no, I don't think a company is automatically a "no go" because a "name brand" took the opposite position. If I had that mentality, I would have lost out on the profit to be had taking the opposite side of all of those other "name brands" listed above. We all make mistakes, and I know my turn for a big mistake is coming up soon, but until them, or even after then we all need to keep in mind that all investors are human and they all make mistakes, name brand or not.

Untitled 

Yes, simply jumping on board a popular brand make decision making easier and offers a feel good warmth when you partake since there is plenty of company in following the crowd, but the reality of the situation is that long term the decisions made by choosing the brand over the substance is often not the optimal one (for you that is, it's often quite a good one for the brand) and that warm fuzzy, follow the crowd feeling that you get often turns much colder as you find you have purchased much more marketing than actual performance or substance. 

Of course, as the rebellious, anti-establishment guy, I fly in the face of all of this, and actually relish in doing so. Let's run down a list of brand bashing analysis that I have done in  recent past. Keep in mind that when my contrarian opinion was initially released on all of these companies, the fundamentals were fully supportive of the groupthink consensus. The caveat is, groupthink is usually wrong.

Research [has lost its] In Motion

image003

Of course, as we know now, you often have to look past yesterday's fundamentals!

image001_copy

Nearly all of my calls on equity, sovereign nations and industries are highly contrarian. At first blush, I get a lot of flack, negative feedback and very little attention save that small coterie of paid subscribers whom I cater to. In the spring/summer of 2010 with RIM trading in the $60s or so, I warned that this company had definitely seen its heyday. I put out very specific research to subscribers, including downloadable models and extensive reports. I was dismissed as having nationalistic beefs with Canadian companies (WTF???). Well, about 80% in market value loss later that short is still popping profits.

BoomBustBlog banking and tech research has been near perfect for 2010/2011. Subscribers who took advantage of this deserve kudos. To wit, and as excerpted from Another RIMM Job? It's Amazing How Many Institutions Don't Read The BoomBust!

Let's try this again: As Forecast Last Year and Clearly Demonstrated This Year, Research in Motion's Problems Are Far From Over

Research in Motion has been one of the most successful tech shorts of this blog's history (thus far). We first recommended a short last year and reiterated it in the fist quarter of this year. Reference:

1. BoomBustBlog Research Performs a RIM Job!
2. BoomBustBlog's Fundamental/Forensic Analysis of Research in Motion Has Returned 2x-3x Original Investment This Year!!

This is a snapshot of RIMM as of the writing of this article...

image002

As you can see, the results have been spectacular, particular if well timed puts have been put to use. In January I posted:

I personally see a clear leader in mobile computing becoming visible in 2012. Using options, a minimum of 2012 expiration OTM and ATM contracts can be purchase at the most optimistic break points demarcated by the model above after being populated with assumptions you feel most valid. I will have a proprietary BoomBustBlog option model available for download to paying subscribers by the end of next week, at which time we will revisit the analysis above.

A 50% drop in price later... On that note, Bloomberg reports: RIM to Cut 2,000 Jobs as BlackBerry Loses Share to IPhone

Additional RIM writings...

• As Forecast Last Year and Clearly Demonstrated This Year, Research in Motion's Problems Are Far From Over

• BoomBustBlog Research Performs a RIM Job!

Another Name Brand Bites The Dust?

On July 24, 2008 I penned Reggie Middleton on Risk, Reward and Reputations on the Street: the Goldman Sachs Forensic Analysis.

At that time, I was virtually ridiculed for even suggesting that the high and mighty Goldman could possibly take a loss. Why, they were best in class, cream of the crop, hired only the best there was (despite the fact that they hired the same guys that all of their competitors did from the same talent pool, same schools to do the same things). You see, unlike today, it was not cool to bash those doing God's work just a few years ago. As a matter of fact, no one would do it, despite the fact that their balance sheet screamed for a bashing... Well, I've put out a rash of research since those days, and guess who was right, Reg or those name brand junkies...

 gs_story

A Few Quick Comments On Goldman's Q4 2011 Results

Here are some links that you are unlikely to find anywhere else...

Just As I Predicted Last Quarter, The World's First FDIC Insured Hedge Fund Takes A Fat Trading Loss

I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & IntroductionI'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & IntroductionI'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & IntroductionI'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction	I'm Hunting Big Game Today: The Squid On A Spear Tip Summary: This is the first in a series of articles to be released this weekend concerning Goldman Sachs, the Squid! In this introduction (for those who do not regularly follow me) I demonstrate how the market, the sell side, and most investors are missing one of the biggest bastions of risk in the US investment banking industry. I will also...
Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?	Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored? Welcome to part two of my series on Hunting the Squid, the overvaluation and under-appreciation of the risks that is Goldman Sachs. Since this highly analytical, but poignant diatribe covers a lot of material, it's imperative that those who have not done so review part 1 of this series, I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part...
Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!	Hunting the Squid Part 3: Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid For those who don't subscribe to BoomBustblog, or haven't read I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction and Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?, not only have you missed out on some unique artwork, you've potentially missed out on 300%...
Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!	Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With Goldman Sachs? Plenty! Yes, this more of the hardest hitting investment banking research available focusing on Goldman Sachs (the Squid), but before you go on, be sure you have read parts 1.2. and 3:  I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On A Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To...

Hunting the Squid, Part 5: Sometimes Your Local Superhero Doesn't Look Like What They Show You In The Movies 

What Was That I Heard About Squids Raising Capital Because They Can't Trade?

Reggie Middleton vs the Squid That Can't Trade!

Now, all should sit back and watch as those other two highly contrarian calls take root, involving the biggest NAME BRANDS of all!

Many commenters in blog forums query why I don't admit being wrong on Apple. My response is, "Where was I wrong on Apple?" In October of 2010 I said that although I wasn't short Apple they will eventually feel competitive pressure and they will deliver a rare but well deserved earnings miss. 

On my blog I gave a time frame of 4 to 6 quarters. Well, exactly 4 quarters later, guess what happened! The Only, and I Mean the Only, Investment/Research House To Warn Of An Apple Miss Is Vindicated!!! This is what I would consider being right, not wrong!

The following quarter, Apple had blowout results which were not unexpected at the BoomBust. Alas, if you bother to peek under the hood, all was not indicative of a massive trend updards - see Anecdotal Observations On Apple's Recent Quarter 

Remember, I never said Apple would crash or go out of business. What I did say was that they would face margin compression as a result of competitive pressures. For any other company, this would be common sense, but because this is Apple, sense is most uncommon. If it were not, then the many indications that Apple will not be able to ride solely on marketing powers and trendy fashions would be obvious. Reference Risk Factors Threaten Apple Margins…

There there is the consistent undervaluation of Google and the likelihood that they will control smartphone mobile computing for the balance of the decade...

1. Looking at the Results of Google's "Negative Cost" Business Model Employed Through Android  
2. Did A Blog Best Wall Street's Best of the Best In Guaging The True Value of Google? We Have To Think More Like An Entrepreneur & Less Like A Wall Street Analyst

There are currently 7 Google reports available. Select the "Google Final Report" and click the "Download" button. You will receive a 63 page analysis that looks like this on the cover...

The table of contents outlines how we have broken Google down into distinct businesses and identified both the individual business models and the potential revenue streams, as well as  valuation for each business line.

Page 57 of the analysis shows a sensitivity table which outlines the various scenarios that can come into play and how it will change our outlook and valuation opinion.

Professional/institutional subscribers can actually access a subset of the model that we used to create the sensitivity analysis above to plug in their own assumptions in case they somehow disagree with our assumptions or view points. Click here for the model: Google Valuation Model (pro and institutional). Click here to subscribe or upgrade.

Now that Facebook has actually filed for an IPO, it's time to revisit our previous analyses. BoomBustBlog subscribers are prompted to review our Facebook Forensic Analysis from this time last year - FB note final 01/11/2011. I will probably review the Facebook IPO filing and update my opinions Friday and/or over the weekend to product a part two of this article. I say probably because this is competing for resources with the REIT research that we are doing, namely calculating the likelihood of bankruptcy. Yes, our opinion has been downgraded to the point where we are questioning its ability to remain a going concern. The opportunity actually has options trading on it as well. Alas, in the meantime let's look at how we got to where are now by excerpting my previous opinions and analysis on this deal.

1. Facebook Becomes One Of The Most Highly Valued Media Companies In The World Thanks To Goldman, & Its Still Private! Monday, 03 January 2011

2. “Here’s A Look At What The Goldman FaceBook Fund Will Look Like As It Ignores The SEC & Peddles Private Shares To The Public Without Full Disclosure“ Tuesday, 04 January 2011

   Yesterday, I attempted to pull the wool from some of the more complacent eyes of news media consumers by outlining the potential goals for Goldman's half billion "investment" in Facebook while at the same time pondering the market for a different type of media concern. A media concern that is heavy on the analysis and investigation, yet light on the political correctness and conflicts of interest (see Facebook Becomes One Of The Most Highly Valued Media Companies In The World Thanks To Goldman, & Its Still Private!). I definitely don't want to be condescending, but there is obviously (at least to me) a need for such an entity amongst the mainstream rags for as I read through the comment sections of the articles written on the topic, I see such naivete as, "Wow!!! If Goldman is putting their money in this, it must be serious!" I say do myself, "It's a damn shame if that is actually a real person's viewpoint and not a Goldman equity underwriting employee".

…

I would like you, dear reader, to let me know why or why not such a media concern as the one I intimated above should not make as much or more money than Goldman, et. al. and the financial engineering bunch, for the media concern actually imparts useful knowledge that actually adds to society, know? Am I being to idealistic in my search for the Utopian world or is there truly a market for real knowledge and insider info. I'm all ears. Now, back to the topic at hand...

For some background into my work on Facebook's offering, go to 13:55 in the video to see me discussing Goldman's Facebook offering that never was.

Notes of interest as I browse through the Goldman Q4-2011 earnings release...

1. Many analysts dropped their estimates for Goldman (considerably after I warned on the firm), setting up the old Wall Street bait and switch move... Yet, despite this setup on reduced earnings, Goldman STILL MISSED on the top line! This is the most important number and has trended downward sharply.
2. Goldman has padded earnings by slashing its compensation. For this I query my hyperintelligent BoomBustBloggers (and anyone else who has a synapse or two to spark), exactly what is that Goldman makes again? What's their prized formula? Their secret sauce? Their patented product? Oh yeah, they really don't have any thing of the sorts outside of their human capital - their employees. Those very same employees in which Goldman is not making a negative investment in order to make numbers (on earnings, they can't do anything about missing the top line). As a result, Goldman's only true product - their only real inventory, is heading for the hills. What does this bode for the future? Well, you guys are smart. You know its bullish when companies invest heavily for the future. What is it when they pare investment back significantly???
   1. The earnings pad is not even as optimistic as it seems. Revenues have decreased more than the effective reduction in compensation, thus it can be argued that effective comp as a % of revenues has increased. Should shareholders be excited about the proportion of their revenues increasing to compensate those who have underperformed so drastically???
3. The net gain attributable to the impact of changes in the firm’s own credit spreads on borrowings for which the fair value option was elected was approximately $600 million for 2011.
   1. So, the firm's actual cash earnings decrease was materially higher than appears on the surface...

4. During the year, the firm repurchased 47.0 million shares of its common stock at an average cost per share of $128.33, for a total cost of $6.04 billion, including 9.2 million shares during the fourth quarter at an average cost of $98.54, for a total cost of $908 million. The remaining share authorization under the firm’s existing repurchase program is 63.5 million shares.

   1. Goldman has taken a $1.3B loss on its share buybacks for 2011! Keep that in mind when taking their investment recommendations to heart! I've Told You Before, And I'll Tell You Again - Goldman Sachs Investment Advice Sucks!!! Even when they are advising themselves on share buybacks though???
5. The MSM news organizations forgot to mention that althought Goldman's asset base is shrinking, it is shifting ever more of those shrinking (read devaluing) assets into the level three category.

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I will extend this note for subscribers if I find anything of interest in subsequent filings or the conference call notes.

Here are some links that you are unlikely to find anywhere else...

Just As I Predicted Last Quarter, The World's First FDIC Insured Hedge Fund Takes A Fat Trading Loss

I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & IntroductionI'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & IntroductionI'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction	I'm Hunting Big Game Today: The Squid On A Spear Tip Summary: This is the first in a series of articles to be released this weekend concerning Goldman Sachs, the Squid! In this introduction (for those who do not regularly follow me) I demonstrate how the market, the sell side, and most investors are missing one of the biggest bastions of risk in the US investment banking industry. I will also...
Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?	Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored? Welcome to part two of my series on Hunting the Squid, the overvaluation and under-appreciation of the risks that is Goldman Sachs. Since this highly analytical, but poignant diatribe covers a lot of material, it's imperative that those who have not done so review part 1 of this series, I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part...
Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!	Hunting the Squid Part 3: Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid For those who don't subscribe to BoomBustblog, or haven't read I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction and Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?, not only have you missed out on some unique artwork, you've potentially missed out on 300%...
Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!	Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With Goldman Sachs? Plenty! Yes, this more of the hardest hitting investment banking research available focusing on Goldman Sachs (the Squid), but before you go on, be sure you have read parts 1.2. and 3:  I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On A Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To...

Hunting the Squid, Part 5: Sometimes Your Local Superhero Doesn't Look Like What They Show You In The Movies 

What Was That I Heard About Squids Raising Capital Because They Can't Trade?

Reggie Middleton vs the Squid That Can't Trade!

Roughly a year ago, I explained to those who subscribe to BoomBustBlog that NYC real estate ever finished correcting. As a matter of fact, it has some ways to go, as does DC real estate. The reason why NYC and DC markets levitated was because the Fed pumped trillions into Wall Street to reflate the bubble which was (and still is) the zombie banking system. DC saw federal spending attempt to replicate organic economic growth. Are any of these methodologies sustainable or practical. Do bulldogs have pleasant breath?

Bloomberg reports The Riskiest Bank on the Street and it goes a little something like this: Morgan Stanley Said to Limit Cash Bonuses, Increase Deferrals

Morgan Stanley (MS), owner of the world’s biggest brokerage, is capping immediate cash bonuses at $125,000 as the firm curtails pay and defers more compensation for senior executives, according to a person briefed on the plans.

Members of the company’s operating committee, led by Chief Executive Officer James Gorman, 53, won’t get any immediate cash, said the person, who declined to be identified because the plan hasn’t been made public. Mark Lake, a spokesman for the New York-based bank, declined to comment.

The decision comes after a fourth quarter that some analysts predicted was the worst for trading and investment- banking revenue since the financial crisis. Increased salaries and previous moves toward deferring more pay have limited investment banks’ flexibility to cut compensation costs, analysts including Atlantic Equities’ Richard Staite have said.

Morgan Stanley’s decision will increase the average amount of pay deferred to about 75 percent, the person said. The firm deferred an average of 60 percent in 2010 and 40 percent in 2009. Deferred cash for 2011 performance will be paid out in two equal installments in the final month of 2012 and 2013, a change from the previous deferral plan that paid out in thirds over 18 months, the person said

Apart from whether said bonuses were ever really deserved in the first place.... Yes, I'll go back thee again, see Wall Street Real Estate Funds Lose Between 61% to 98% for Their Investors as They Rake in Fees!":

Last year I felt compelled to comment on Wall Street private fund fees after getting into a debate with a Morgan Stanley employee about the performance of the CRE funds. He had the nerve to brag about the fact that MS made money despite the fact they lost about 2/3rds of their clients money. I though to myself, "Damn, now that's some bold, hubristic s@$t". So, I decided to attempt to lay it out for everybody in the blog, see "

The example below illustrates the impact of change in the value of real estate investments on the returns of the various stakeholders - lenders, investors (LPs) and fund sponsor (GP), for a real estate fund with an initial investment of $9 billion, 60% leverage and a life of 6 years. The model used to generate this example is freely available for download to prospective Reggie Middleton, LLC clients and BoomBustBlog subscribers by clicking here: Real estate fund illustration. All are invited to run your own scenario analysis using your individual circumstances and metrics....

... Under the base case assumptions, the steep price declines not only wipes out the positive returns from the operating cash flows but also shaves off a portion of invested capital resulting in negative cumulated total returns earned for the real estate fund over the life of six years. However, owing to 60% leverage, the capital losses are magnified for the equity investors leading to massive erosion of equity capital. However, it is noteworthy that the returns vary substantially for LPs (contributing 90% of equity) and GP (contributing 10% of equity). It can be observed that the money collected in the form of management fees and acquisition fees more than compensates for the lost capital of the GP, eventually emerging with a net positive cash flow. On the other hand, steep declines in the value of real estate investments strip the LPs (investors) of their capital. The huge difference between the returns of GP and LPs and the factors behind this disconnect reinforces the conflict of interest between the fund managers and the investors in the fund.

re_fund_returns.pngre_fund_returns.pngre_fund_returns.png

re_fund_returns_tables.pngre_fund_returns_tables.pngre_fund_returns_tables.png

re_fund_returns_tables.png

Under the base case assumptions, the cumulated return of the fund and LPs is -6.75% and -55.86, respectively while the GP manages a positive return of 17.64%. Under a relatively optimistic case where some mild recovery is assumed in the later years (3% annual increase in year 5 and year 6), LP still loses a over a quarter of its capital invested while GP earns a phenomenal return. Under a relatively adverse case with 10% annual decline in year 5 and year 6, the LP loses most of its capital while GP still manages to breakeven by recovering most of the capital losses from the management and acquisition fees..

re_fund_returns_tables3.png

Now, that we're on the topic of Morgan Stanlely, real estate, and bonuses, keep in mind that there is never just one roach. If Morgan Stanley is slashing bonuses to this extent, so are the other big banks. Remember, I have warned extensively on Goldman Sachs, the big bank that can't trade...

Reggie Middleton Explains the Travails of the F.I.R.E. Sector on CNBC

Here are some links that you are unlikely to find anywhere else...

Just As I Predicted Last Quarter, The World's First FDIC Insured Hedge Fund Takes A Fat Trading Loss

I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & IntroductionI'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction	I'm Hunting Big Game Today: The Squid On A Spear Tip Summary: This is the first in a series of articles to be released this weekend concerning Goldman Sachs, the Squid! In this introduction (for those who do not regularly follow me) I demonstrate how the market, the sell side, and most investors are missing one of the biggest bastions of risk in the US investment banking industry. I will also...
Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?	Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored? Welcome to part two of my series on Hunting the Squid, the overvaluation and under-appreciation of the risks that is Goldman Sachs. Since this highly analytical, but poignant diatribe covers a lot of material, it's imperative that those who have not done so review part 1 of this series, I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part...
Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid: Goldman Sachs and Market Perception of Real Risks!	Hunting the Squid Part 3: Reggie Middleton Serves Up Fried Calamari From Raw Squid For those who don't subscribe to BoomBustblog, or haven't read I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On The Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction and Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To Be Ignored?, not only have you missed out on some unique artwork, you've potentially missed out on 300%...
Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With The Squid? Plenty!!!	Hunting the Squid, part 4: So, What Else Can Go Wrong With Goldman Sachs? Plenty! Yes, this more of the hardest hitting investment banking research available focusing on Goldman Sachs (the Squid), but before you go on, be sure you have read parts 1.2. and 3:  I'm Hunting Big Game Today:The Squid On A Spear Tip, Part 1 & Introduction Hunting the Squid, Part2: Since When Is Enough Derivative Exposure To Blow Up The World Something To...

• Hunting the Squid, Part 5: Sometimes Your Local Superhero Doesn't Look Like What They Show You In The Movies 
• What Was That I Heard About Squids Raising Capital Because They Can't Trade?
• Reggie Middleton vs the Squid That Can't Trade!

About a year ago I penned a piece called...

Dr. Benjamin Shalom Bernanke, AKA Dr. FrankenFinance, Has Successfully Caused NYC Condo Prices To Be The ONLY Major Condo Market To Rise In Price

As excerpted...

Yesterday, I illustrated how NYC is pulling away from all of the other major condo markets - see "Why Is NYC The Only Major Condo Market Increasing In Price? ". According to the S&P Case Shiller Condo index, is the only major US condo market that not only has firming prices but is actually increasing in price. Chatter and anecdotal evidence from the ground confirms this as developers and speculators are once again bidding up development land, lots and potential conversion properties.

In the afore-linked piece, I gave what I consider to be the cause of this "newfound", yet hard to come by value. The answer??? Dr. Benjamin Shalom Bernanke. You see, Dr. Bernanke has taken over the helm of the "Great Global Macro Experiment” from Alan Greenspan and has supercharged it to the nth degree - all primarily to save our insolvent banking system. Where is the nexus of banking and finance in this country? Answer, right where you see that little positive blip in a chart of otherwise sharply downward trending assets. Trust me, it is not as if there is any dearth of condo unit supply in our dear city, as can be seen in “Who are ya gonna believe, the pundits or your lying eyes?”.  As excerpted from yesterday's post, here is that same area about a year and a half later...

Now, to remind all exactly how much capital and resources Dr. Bernanke pumped into the NYC area, be aware that this industry was literally on the verge of collapse in 2008 (with two of the five biggest banks literally collapsing and the balance getting bailed out by the government right before they collapsed), yet paid out record bonuses on record earnings less than 8 quarters later. This is even more amazing considering the only fundamental change in to the Frankenstein Monster assets that contributed to these banks [near] demise is that they have further PLUNGED IN VALUE! Yes, I do mean Frankenstein assets. I implore you to delve in further - "Welcome to the World of Dr. FrankenFinance!" and Financial Innovation vs Financial Fraud.

Let's revisit the charts from yesterday's  The Latest Case Shiller Index – Housing Continues Freefall In Aggressive Search For Equilibrium, with a few modifications to make the obvious more,,, well, obvious...

Remember, as bearish as this chart looks, it is actually overly optimistic, markedly so. Far be it for me to beggar the obvious, but why in the hell would an environment that causes the worlds largest banks to collapse like anorexics in a Weight Watchers convention, suddenly get  A LOT worse, yet spawn such a surge in the banking industry? Well my dear BoomBustBlogger, its one part regulatory capture (More on Lehman Brothers Dies While Getting Away with Murder: Introducing Regulatory Capture), two parts helicopter stunt man (Great Global Macro Experiment).

On the Regulatory Capture front, let’s revisit the FASB tale: About the Politically Malleable FASB, Paid for Politicians, and Mark to Myth Accounting Rules. Remember, the change of these rules to the status of straight silliness that kicked off one of the greatest bear market rallies in the history of US publicly traded stocks. Now, nearly everything financial (as it relates to M2M) is overvalued.

fasb_mark_to_market_chart.png

I declared insolvency throughout the banking system, and it looked as if I was wrong for some time, then the truth’s ugly head started peaking out. See The Financial Times Vindicates BoomBustBlog’s Stance On Goldman Sachs – Once Again!

As excerpted from Did Bernanke Permanently Cripple the Butterfly That Is US Housing? The Answer Is More Obvious Than Many Want To Believe

This near cessation of foreclosure activity has materially dropped the shadow inventory numbers, but has done so in a way that is quite misleading. Those foreclosures either will happen and become REOs or distressed property sales that are currently averaging a discount of ~25% to conventional retail sales (thus further pressuring sales prices), or will result in the properties being put directly  on the market at steep discount (again, further pressuring sale prices). Basically, the foreclosure backlog is simply accumulating in the background and will print a very sharp spike upwards one way or another once the foreclosure and fraud issues of the banks are sorted out – even if they are sorted out to the detriment of the banks. Despite this reprieve in foreclosures, the ratio of shadow inventory to home sales is not decreasing. This is a double negative, for shadow inventory is decreasing (albeit for very artificial and temporary reasons). The reason for the lack of movement in this very key figure is that housing sales are actually declining both on a seasonally adjusted and non-adjusted basis – and if these figures were to be adjusted for “true” inflation, would look much worse. This leaves the ratio of delinquent and foreclosure activity to sales relatively static. One can surmise what happens when the foreclosure backlog that was caused by the bank’s myriad legal issues clear up.

The most valuable chart in the study just released to subscribers, Shadow Inventory Update -- March 2011 shows how quickly one can expect the shadow inventory to be consumed by the sale of homes. To make a long story short, we still have quite a ways to go before we reach the pre-bubble levels, and that is without taking into consideration the foreclosure moratoriums. Keep in mind that these numbers do not include the pent up shadow inventory that is being hidden by the foreclosure crisis. That additional inventory on top of a slowing housing sales metric can easily tack one to 4 years onto the inventory numbers.

As you can see, the credit (delinquency measures) metrics are actually moderating slightly over the last few quarters, but have increased over the last two. This is a negative sign considering all of the efforts that have been made by the government and the banks to reduce that figure. The foreclosure inventory, although lulled somewhat, is still slightly on the rise. This lull is synthetic and temporary, a by-product of congressional pressure and legal issues pressing the banks to undergo voluntary and involuntary moratoriums on foreclosure activity. The consequent movement to be expected as these moratoriums are lifted, the banks work out their legal issues, and the properties move one way or the other will cause a very dramatic spike in the shadow inventory numbers. This spike will occur on top of slowing housing sales, dramatically reduced housing prices metrics and potentially deteriorating credit metrics (if the most recent trend continues). If that is not enough good news for you, the Goldilocks scenario of the perfect interest rate environment for real estate needs to (and probably will in the near to medium term) come to an end. See The True Cause Of The 2008 Market Crash Looks Like It’s About To Rear Its Ugly Head Again, With A Vengeance Friday, March 11th, 2011. Our calculations available ot subscribers show a very bleak outlook for housing. It is not as if there is no precedence for such. Take a look at the Japanese situation, and this is not taking into consideration the recent issues of the earthquake, tsunami and radiation poisoning and nuclear meltdown. Few things are as detrimental to property values as radiation poisoning!

A lesson to be learned: Beware for when a true black swan event occurs...

Further reading:

1. 1. Reggie Middleton ON CNBC’s Fast Money Discussing Hopium in Real Estate Friday, February 25th, 2011
   2. In Case You Didn’t Get The Memo, The US Is In a Real Estate Depression That Is About To Get Much Worse Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
2. Further Proof Of The Worsening Of The Real Estate DepressionThursday, February 24th, 2011
   1. You’ve Been Had! You’ve Been Took! Hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led Astray! Run Amok! This Is What They Do! Monday, February 28th, 2011
3. FASB Appears to Have Bent Over For The Final Time & Accuracy In Financial Reporting Dies An Ignominious Death!!!Wednesday, February 9th, 2011
   1. As JP Morgan & Other Banks Legal Costs Spike, Many Should Ask If It Was Not Obvious Years Ago That This Industry May Become The “New” Tobacco Companies Thursday, January 6th, 2011
4. The Latest Case Shiller Index – Housing Continues Freefall In Aggressive Search For EquilibriumMonday, February 7th, 2011
   1. As Clearly Forecasted On BoomBustBlog, Housing Prices Commence Their Downward Price Movement In Search Of Equilibrium Scraping Depression Levels Tuesday, December 28th, 2010

Here's a spattering of news that was obvious two years ago, yet released today...

Stocks Fall Amid Europe Downgrade Concern, JPMorgan -Yes, several European countries will be downgraded again - the problem is they should have been downgraded again quarter before last! Reference the entire Pan-European sovereign debt crisis seriesand then consider the query, "What Is More Valuable, The Opinion Of A Major Rating Agency Or The Opinion Of A Blog? Go Ahead, I DARE You To Answer!"

U.S. Trade Deficit Widens Beyond Forecast - Yet US treasuries are still being bid at negative yields. Is this sustainable? German bunds are doing this very same levitation/flight to "hope for quality" act as I type this. What happens when people start to pull out their calculators and spreadsheets? Reference The Biggest Threat To The 2012 Economy Is??? Not What Wall Street Is Telling You...

JPMorgan Misses on Revenue Outlook; Shares Fall- As I have explicitly outlined for several quarters. My followers should realize what my subscribers already know, and that is JPM missed despite lowered earnings expectations and synthetically contrived results borne from accounting gimmicks and games. That goes to show you how bad off the nations big banks really are! I know certain name brand analysts have been bullish on US banks, but...  Question the Quality Of BoomBustBlog Bank Research, Will You? Bove and Fitch Follow "The Blog"!

And in case you didn't know, There's Something Fishy at the House of Morgan

You can even download your own Independent Look into JP Morgan here...

Click graph to enlarge

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RBS Capitulation Sets Blueprint for EU Banks- Honestly, are we just figuring this out now? See "BoomBust BNP Paribas?" (it is strongly recommended that you review this article if you haven't read it already) I started releasing snippets and tidbits of the proprietary research that led to the BNP short, namely  Bank Run Liquidity Candidate Forensic Opinion - A full forensic note for professional and institutional subscribers. See also The Anatomy Of A European Bank Run: Look At The Banking Situation BEFORE The Run Occurs!As excerpted:

Below is a chart excerpted from our most recent work showing the asset/liability funding mismatch of a bank detailed within the report. The actual name of the bank is not at issue here. What is at issue is what situation this bank has found itself in and why it is in said situation after both Lehman and Bear Stearns collapsed from the EXACT SAME PROBLEM!

Note: These charts are derived from the subscriber download posted yesterday, Exposure Producing Bank Risk (788.3 kB 2011-07-21 11:00:20).

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The problem then is the same as the European problem now, leveraging up to buy assets that have dropped precipitously in value and then lying about it until you cannot lie anymore. You see, the lies work on everybody but your counterparties - who actually want to see cash!

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Using this European bank as a proxy for Bear Stearns in January of 2008, the tall stalk represents the liabilities behind Bear's illiquid level 2 and level 3 assets (including the ill fated mortgage products). Equity is destroyed as the assets leveraged through the use of these liabilities are nearly halved in value, leaving mostly liabilities. The maroon stalk represents the extreme risk displayed in the first chart in this missive, and that is the excessive reliance on very short term liabilities to fund very long term and illiquid assets that have depreciated in price. Wait, there's more!

The green represents the unseen canary in the coal mine, and the reason why Bear Stearns and Lehman ultimately collapsed, as seen in "The Fuel Behind Institutional “Runs on the Bank" Burns Through Europe, Lehman-Style":.

And finally... France Loses AAA Status as S&P Wields Ratings Ax

The reason??? France's banking system's solvency issues are obvious, and the leverage into Italy is foreboding. The socialist state is bound to do more bank bailing in the very near future, and that ain't cheap! Of course S&P takes action 7 months after BoomBustBlog warns paying clients!

Wednesday, 03 August 2011 France, As Most Susceptble To Contagion, Will See Its Banks Suffer

In case the hint was strong enough, I explicitly state that although the sell side and the media are looking at Greece sparking Italy, it is France and french banks in particular that risk bringing the Franco-Italia make-believe capitalism session, aka the French leveraged Italian sector of the Euro Ponzi scheme down, on its head. See also The Fuel Behind Institutional “Runs on the Bank” Burns Through Europe, Lehman-Style!

I then provided a deep dive of the French bank we feel is most at risk. Let it be known that every bank remotely referenced by this research has been halved (at a minimal) in share price!

• •  French Bank Run Forensic Thoughts - Retail Valuation Note - For retail subscribers
  •  Bank Run Liquidity Candidate Forensic Opinion - A full forensic note for professional and institutional subscribers

Earlier this week I published a controversial rant on the US education system - How Inferior American Education Caused The Credit/Real Estate/Sovereign Debt Bubbles and Why It's Preventing True Recovery. This was a lengthy piece, but apparently caught the interest of many as it went semi-viral. This is part of the conclusion, attempting to show how US indoctrinated "GroupThink" prevents many (if not most) from seeing what empirically should be obvious. 

There are many analysts and pundits who outline their predictions for the new year. I don't believe in "predicting" personally, but it is very important to form an outlook for the future and back said outlook up with objective observation and prudent analysis. Several big bank analysts have outlined what they perceive to be the biggest threat to stability for 2012, and material amount of them chose the same threat...

shah_of_iran

Iran

Former CIA Chief: Iran 'Single Greatest Destabilizing' Force in 2012

Tehran will be the top threat in 2012, former CIA Director Michael Hayden predicted Wednesday as Iran dominates foreign policy debate even while national security officials appeared to dismiss the Islamic Republic's latest threat to close the Strait of Hormuz.

"It is the single greatest destabilizing element right now with regards to global security," Hayden told Fox News, adding that the outlook is not encouraging.

Don't get me wrong, I fully appreciate and agree with the assertion that Iran is a serious threat to global stability - and I'm not the only one...

Whle PIMCO didn't actually label Iran as the biggest threat, they did do a superb job of outlining the potential fallout from an Iranian oil event....

"Pimco's 4 "Iran Invasion" Oil Price Scenarios: From $140 To "Doomsday"",

 "Whenever the global economy is in a fragile state, as it is today, geopolitical concerns such as the possibility of a strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities become much more exaggerated. Although we cannot (and will not) predict whether an attack is imminent, or even likely, our experience and research tells us that any major disruption in the supply of oil from Iran could have either subtle or profound global repercussions – especially as excess capacity is virtually exhausted and we doubt that other OPEC nations would be able to compensate for a reduction in Iranian oil production."

The 4 scenarios presented by PIMCO here they are: "i)Scenario 1: Exports minimally effected. Concerns would drive initial price response; Oil could spike initially to $130 to $140 per barrel and then settle in a higher range, around $120 to $125; ii) Scenario 2: Iranian exports cut off for one month. In this case, we would expectprices could reach previous all-time highs of $145/bbl or even higher depending on issues with shipping; iii) Scenario 3: Iranian exports are lost for half a year. We think oil prices could probably rally and average $150 for the six months, with notable spikes above that level; iv)Scenario 4: Greater loss of production from around the region, either through subsequent Iranian response or due to lack of ability to move oil through Straits of Hormuz. This is the Armageddon scenario in which oil prices could soar, significantly constraining global growth. Forecasting prices in the prior scenarios is dangerous enough. So, we won’t even begin to forecast a cap or target price in this final Doomsday scenario."

Now, SocGen weighs in...

SocGen Lays It Out: "EU Iran Embargo: Brent $125-150. Straits Of Hormuz Shut: $150-200"

1) "Scenario 1: EU enacts a full ban on 0.6 Mb/d of imports of Iranian crude. In this scenario, we would expect Brent crude prices to surge into the $125-150 range." 2) "Scenario 2: Iran shuts down the Straits of Hormuz, disrupting 15 Mb/d of crude flows. In this scenario, we would expect Brent prices to spike into the $150-200 range for a limited time period."

Now, the last thing an already crippled Europe needs is a doubling of its primary transportation energy source. Alas, methinks Europe has bigger problems to with which to cause goose bumps on its booty - namely.... It's banking AND insurance system is still one step from absolute implosion! It's gotten so bad that the borrowers are actually lending to the lenders because the lenders have no effective credit in the markets!!!

European Banks Now Get Loans From Cash-Rich Firms

Blue-chip names like Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Peugeot are among firms bailing out Europe's ailing banks in a reversal of the established roles of clients and lenders.
Euro bills and U.S. dollars being exchanged. One source with knowledge of the so-called repo deals, or short-term secured lending, said the two U.S. pharmaceutical groups and French car maker were the latest to sign up for them. Europe's banks are struggling to secure the cash to fund their day-to-day business and have largely stopped lending to each other for fear Europe's sovereign debt [cnbc explains] crisis could land any of their peers in trouble.

As a result a group of well-known, cash-rich companies with solid cash flows has stepped in the repo market, which provides a form of lending so far almost exclusively in use between banks, and between banks and central banks. One market participant said in one key area of lending companies now accounted for 25 percent of these deals. Repos provide the new financiers with the strict guarantees they need before parting with their cash, answering worries that the crisis has weakened Europe's banks to the extent that they might not be able to pay the money back.
"Companies in the past were ... happy to deposit cash on an unsecured basis to a bank for an interest payment," said Frank Reiss, who oversees some of the repo business at Euroclear, the Brussels-based settlement house owned by a group of banks. "Now following the crisis, we have seen that companies are engaging in repos secured with collateral against the cash they are lending," said Reiss. Euroclear is the largest administrator of repo trades in Europe. At the moment the European Central Bank provides the main lifeline for banks and has pumped hundreds of billions of euros of cash into the market. But the banks are parking most of the money they borrow back at the ECB [cnbc explains] rather than trusting to lend to each other.

Yes, this appears to be the fact... Deposits at ECB Hit New High

Commercial banks' overnight deposits at the European Central Bank hit a new record high of 464 billion euros, data showed on Monday, and traders said they could hit half a trillion euros by next week. High deposits indicate banks prefer the safety of the central bank for their funds to higher rates they could get by lending to each other.

Banks are awash with cash after taking an unprecedented 489 billion euros in the ECB's [cnbc explains] first-ever three-year liquidity operation late last month, and are mulling what to do with the money in the longer term. The liquidity operation was designed to underpin banks' finances and hopefully repair some confidence in the sector, but the sovereign debt crisis means many institutions still lack enough trust to lend to each other and prefer to stash their money at the ECB.

"The market is more or less closed, all the over-liquidity is going back to ECB," the trader said. "Slowly people are getting some longer funding, but there is no easing in the short end."

Now, Germany has acted as stalwart stopgap in the sovereign debt carnage of the EU nations. It's perceived as the strongest, most stable and most disciplined economy. As such, there has been a massive flight to quality trade that has pushed German bunds to negative yields. That's right! As in the US, you literally have to pay Germany for the privilege of lending it your hard earned money.

• German Note Yields Fall to Record Low Following Merkel, Sarkozy Meeting

• Germany Issues Bills With Negative Yields As Economists Agree the nation is in recession.

Right here and now, the more astute should see there's something wrong here, but we shall move on. Wait a minute! This net export nation (that means its livlihood is based on selling goods to others) whose major trading partners suffer from a myriad of maladies ranging from hard landing to near depression is in economic recession, yet there's enough demand to lend it money that lenders have to pay for the privilege???

1. Latest Numbers from Germany Confirm Recession The New American -The announcement from the German Economy Ministry over the weekend confirmed that the long-awaited European recession has officially begun: German factory ...
2. Germany in recession - The Daily Economist - Entering the new year, we can now add Germany to the growing list of countries in recession, as noted by more than a dozen economists who have come to this ...

3. Economists: Germany in a recession now - The Local - As European leaders struggle to stave off a looming recession this year,Germany – the continent's biggest and healthiest economy – is probably already in one,...

4. Survey shows Germany already in recession: report - MarketWatch - BERLIN -The German economy is already in recession, Die Welt newspaper reported Monday, citing its survey of 14 bank economists.

I believe Germany poses the biggest threat to global harmony for 2012. Here's why...

European banks are (in addition to borrowing on a secured basis from those customers they usually lend to) also paying insurers and pension funds to take their illiquid bonds in exchange for better quality ones, in a desperate bid to secure much-needed cash from the ECB, which only provides cash against collateral. This may not be as safe a measure as it sounds. Below is a sensitivity analysis of Generali's (a highly leveraged Italian insurer, subscribers see  Exposure of European insurers to PIIGS) sovereign debt holdings.

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As you can see, Generali is highly leveraged into PIIGS debt, with 400% of its tangible equity exposed. Despite such leveraged exposure, I calculate (off the cuff, not an in depth analysis) that it took a 10% hit to Tangible Equity. Now, that's a lot, but one would assume that it would have been much worse. What saved it? Diversification into Geman bunds, whose yield went negative, thus throwing off a 14% return. Not bad for alleged AAA fixed income. But let's face it, Germany lives in the same roach motel as the rest of the profligate EU, they just rent the penthouse suite! Remember, Germany is not in recession after a rip roaring bull run in its bonds, and I presume the recession should get much deeper since as a net exporter it has to faces its trading partners going broke. Below you see what happens if the bund returns were simply run along the historical trend line (with not extreme bullishness of the last year).

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Companies such as Generali would instantly lose a third of their tangible equity. This is quite conservative, since the profligate states bonds would probably collapse unless the spreads shrink, which is highly doubtful. Below you see what would happen if bunds were to take a 10% loss.

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That's right, a 10% loss in bunds translates into a near 50% loss in tangible equity to this insurer, which would realistically be 60% plus as the rest of the EU portfolio will compress in solidarity. Combine this with the fact that insurers operating results are facing historically unprecedented stress (see You Can Rest Assured That The Insurance Industry Is In For Guaranteed Losses!) and it's not hard to imagine marginal insurers seeing equity totally wiped out. The same situation is evident in banks and pension funds as well as real estate entities dependent on financing in the near to medium term - basically, the entire FIRE sector in both European and US markets (that's right, don't believe those who say the US banks have decoupled from Europe).

thumb_Reggie_Middleton_on_Street_Signs_Fire

The damage to banks will probably be worse due to the higher level of leverage in European institutions. This is saying a lot since Italy's Generali is truly levered up the ASS! As excerpted from our professional series  Bank Run Liquidity Candidate Forensic Opinion:

BNP_Paribus_First_Thoughts_4_Page_01

This is how that document started off. Even if we were to disregard BNP's most serious liquidity and ALM mismatch issues, we still need to address the topic above. Now, if you were to employ the free BNP bank run models that I made available in the post "The BoomBustBlog BNP Paribas "Run On The Bank" Model Available for Download"" (click the link to download your own copy of the bank run model, whether your a simple BoomBustBlog follower or a paid subscriber) you would know that the odds are that BNP's bond portfolio would probably take a much bigger hit than that conservatively quoted above.  Here I demonstrated what more realistic numbers would look like in said model... image008

Be aware that Greece, et. al. currently trade at a very fat spread to the bund. Said spread should actually widen as reality starts to set in. Remember, these are spreads, not static yields! If German bunds reflect the fact that Germany, as a net export nation that derives its bread and butter from exporting to economies that currently range from facing hard landings to recession to down right borderline depression (China/US/EU), then Bund prices may feel the effects of fundamentals over the flight to (alleged) quality trade that has pushed yields negative. When you have to pay somebody to lend them money, the wrting should be written very clearly on the wall. If only American Group think indoctrination style education taught us to read (the writing on the wall, that is). See for How Inferior American Education Caused The Credit/Real Estate/Sovereign Debt Bubbles and Why It's Preventing True Recovery more on this.

To note page 9 of that very same document addresses how this train of thought can not only be accelerated, but taken much further...

BNP_Paribus_First_Thoughts_4_Page_09

So, how bad could this faux accounting thing be? You know, there were two American banks that abused this FAS 157 cum Topic 820 loophole as well. There names were Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers. I warned my readers well ahead of time with them as well - well before anybody else apparently had a clue (Is this the Breaking of the Bear? and Is Lehman really a lemming in disguise?). Well, at least in the case of BNP, it's a potential tangible equity wipeout, or is it? On to page 10 of said subscription document...

BNP_Paribus_First_Thoughts_4_Page_10

Yo, watch those level 2s! Of course there is more to BNP besides overpriced, over leveraged sovereign debt, liquidity issues and ALM mismatch, andlying about stretching Topic 820 rules, but I think that's enough for right now. Is all of this already priced into the free falling stock? Are these the ingredients for a European bank run? I'll let you decide, but BoomBustBloggers Saw this coming midsummer when this stock was at $50. Those who wish to subscribe to my research and services should click here. Those who don't subscribe can still benefit from the chronology that led up to the BIG BNP short (at least those who have come across my research for the first time)...

Thursday, 28 July 2011  The Mechanics Behind Setting Up A Potential European Bank Run Trastde and European Bank Run Trading Supplement

I identify specific bank run candidates and offer illustrative trade setups to capture alpha from such an event. The options quoted were unfortunately unavailable to American investors, and enjoyed a literal explosion in gamma and implied volatility. Not to fear, fruits of those juicy premiums were able to be tasted elsewhere as plain vanilla shorts and even single stock futures threw off insane profits.

Wednesday, 03 August 2011 France, As Most Susceptble To Contagion, Will See Its Banks Suffer

In case the hint was strong enough, I explicitly state that although the sell side and the media are looking at Greece sparking Italy, it is France and french banks in particular that risk bringing the Franco-Italia make-believe capitalism session, aka the French leveraged Italian sector of the Euro ponzi scheme down, on its head. As clearly predicted in the last quarter of 2009, Another Banking Crisis Is Inevitable? There will be several bank runs, although they may be cleveraly concealed by central banks and governmental authorities. Reference The Anatomy Of A European Bank Run: Look At The Banking Situation BEFORE The Run Occurs! These bank runs will not be confined to the annals of the EU either, reference Yes, The BoomBustBlog Forecast Pan-European Bank Run Has Breached American Soil!!! The US has a greater than 50% chance of seeing additional bank runs, albeit most likely cloaked. Remember, Lehman Brothers, WaMu and Bear Stearns were victims of bank runs, as was MF Global - which many people fail to realize, and it was a highly leveraged bank run to boot - On MF Global, Hyper-Hypothecation That Creates $6b Out $2B And A Central Bank That Couldn't See A Bankruptcy Staring It In The Face. The big name brand banks whom many thought were infallible, actually have many similarities to that of the now bankrupt MF Global, to wit - Goldman, et. al. Suffer From The Same Malady That Collapsed Lehman and MF Global, Worlds 1st and 8th Largest Bankruptcies!

I then provide a deep dive of the French bank we feel is most at risk. Let it be known that every banked remotely referenced by this research has been halved (at a mininal) in share price! Most are down ~10% of more today, alone!

•  French Bank Run Forensic Thoughts - Retail Valuation Note - For retail subscribers
•  Bank Run Liquidity Candidate Forensic Opinion - A full forensic note for professional and institutional subscribers

So, What's the Next Shoe To Drop? Read on...

For those who claim I may be Euro bashing, rest assured - I am not. Just a week or two later, I released research on a big US bank that will quite possibly catch Franco-Italiano Ponzi Collapse fever, with the pro document containing all types of juicy details. This is the next big thing, for when (not if, but when) European banks blow up, it WILL affect us stateside! Subscribers, be sure to be prepared. Puts are already quite costly, but there are other methods if you haven't taken your positions when the research was first released. For those who wish to subscribe, click here.

•  Contagion Forensic Review - Retail
•  Contagion Forensic Review - Professional

I would like my subscribers to remain cognizant of the face that equity prices probably will detach from fundamentals this quarter as the inevitable wave of global QE is once again instituted via version 3.5x, but this can kicking has pushed the party's participant into a virtual dead end. Yes, it can continue, but I don't foresee many years of this. Although this is merely speculation on my part, but methinks 2012 may very well be the year of reckoning.

Those who wish to subscribe to BoomBustBlog research, analysis and opinion should click here! You can follow my public comments via the following avenues....

Relevant subscriber documents:

•  BNP Exposures - Professional Subscriber Download Version
   BNP Exposures - Retail Subscriber Download Version
•  BNP Exposures - Free Public Download Version
•  Trading Opinion and Analysis 9-14-2011
•  Trading Opinion and Analysis 9-7-2011
•  French Bank Run Forensic Thoughts - Addendum and Update