Wednesday, October 1, 2008

ECONOMISTS SAY BAIL OUT WASTE OF $$$



PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING-THE LIST OF WHO SIGNED CAN BE FOUND AT THE URL END OF THE MESSAGE. ALSO, LOOK AT THE ASSETS OF THE TOP 50 BANKS AND TELL ME THE BANKING INDUSTRY NEEDS MORE $$$$.

(This letter was sent to Congress on Wed Sept 24 2008 regarding the Treasury plan as outlined on that date. It does not reflect all signatories views on subesquent plans or modifications of the bill)

To the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate:

As economists, we want to express to Congress our great concern for the plan proposed by Treasury Secretary Paulson to deal with the financial crisis. We are well aware of the difficulty of the current financial situation and we agree with the need for bold action to ensure that the financial system continues to function. We see three fatal pitfalls in the currently proposed plan:

1) Its fairness. The plan is a subsidy to investors at taxpayers’ expense. Investors who took risks to earn profits must also bear the losses. Not every business failure carries systemic risk. The government can ensure a well-functioning financial industry, able to make new loans to creditworthy borrowers, without bailing out particular investors and institutions whose choices proved unwise.

2) Its ambiguity. Neither the mission of the new agency nor its oversight are clear. If taxpayers are to buy illiquid and opaque assets from troubled sellers, the terms, occasions, and methods of such purchases must be crystal clear ahead of time and carefully monitored afterwards.

3) Its long-term effects. If the plan is enacted, its effects will be with us for a generation. For all their recent troubles, America's dynamic and innovative private capital markets have brought the nation unparalleled prosperity. Fundamentally weakening those markets in order to calm short-run disruptions is desperately short-sighted.

For these reasons we ask Congress not to rush, to hold appropriate hearings, and to carefully consider the right course of action, and to wisely determine the future of the financial industry and the U.S. economy for years to come.


Signed (updated at 9/27/2008 6:00PM CT)

http://faculty.chicagogsb.edu/john.cochrane/research/Papers/mortgage_protest.htm

Here is a list of the 50 largest banks and savings institutions in the United States ranked by total deposits in thousands of dollars.

Institution Name
State
Headquartered No.
of
Offices Total
Deposits
June 30, 2007
Bank of America North Carolina 5,728 596,584,899
JPMorgan Chase Bank Ohio 3,108 439,996,000
Wachovia Bank North Carolina 3,103 314,850,000
Wells Fargo Bank South Dakota 3,255 263,664,999
Citibank Nevada 1,036 210,289,000
Washington Mutual Bank Washington 2,180 202,706,306
SunTrust Bank Georgia 1,747 114,579,848
U.S. Bank Ohio 2,590 113,097,080
Regions Bank Alabama 2,087 88,388,815
Branch Banking and Trust Company North Carolina 1,484 83,720,251
National City Bank Ohio 1,451 82,374,824
HSBC Bank USA Delaware 455 75,342,071
World Savings Bank, FSB California 287 73,247,967
Countrywide Bank Virginia 2 60,616,621
PNC Bank Pennsylvania 836 59,188,198
Keybank Ohio 965 57,286,597
ING Bank, fsb Delaware 1 54,161,553
Merrill Lynch Bank USA Utah 3 51,601,084
Sovereign Bank Pennsylvania 745 49,134,698
Comerica Bank Michigan 395 41,797,801
Union Bank of California California 331 40,650,535
Commerce Bank Pennsylvania 398 40,126,588
North Fork Bank New York 356 38,059,484
Fifth Third Bank Michigan 775 37,990,237
LaSalle Bank National Association Illinois 138 34,653,022
E*TRADE Bank Virginia 2 33,197,825
Bank of the West California

671


33,151,413
Citibank (South Dakota) N.A. South Dakota 4 32,892,908
Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company New York 673 32,811,138
Harris National Association Illinois 226 30,725,670
The Bank of New York New York 9 29,601,000
Chase Bank USA, Delaware 3 29,565,966
Marshall and Ilsley Bank Wisconsin 321 28,899,307
TD BankNorth Maine 626 28,092,910
Fifth Third Bank Ohio 415 27,054,097
USAA Federal Savings Bank Texas 1 25,267,329
Citizens Bank of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania 415 24,485,743
The Huntington National Bank Ohio 424 24,121,042
Citizens Bank of Massachusetts Massachusetts 262 23,713,359
LaSalle Bank Midwest Michigan 268 23,435,977
Compass Bank Alabama 420 23,405,240
First Tennessee Bank Tennessee 259 21,763,800
Charter One Bank Ohio 490 21,270,835
Capital One Louisiana 354 20,567,194
Discover Bank Delaware 2 20,343,620
UBSBank Utah 1 20,222,245
Morgan Stanley Bank Utah 1 19,535,000
Colonial Bank, National Association Alabama 321 16,663,063
Banco Popular de Puerto Rico Puerto Rico 202 15,269,000
TD Bank USA, National Association New York 1 15,246,862


See Top 50 Bank Holding Companies -- Source: FDIC

IF THE TABLE DOES NOT COME OUT RIGHT GO TO: http://nyjobsource.com/banks.html

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