if it weren’t for the inflated loan values, Regions’ equity would be less than zero.

[dixiegrrrrl]

Check out the footnotes to Regions Financial Corp.’s latest quarterly report, and you’ll see a remarkable disclosure. There, in an easy-to-read chart, the company divulged that the loans on its books as of June 30 were worth $22.8 billion less than what its balance sheet said. The Birmingham, Alabama-based bank’s shareholder equity, by comparison, was just $18.7 billion.

So, if it weren’t for the inflated loan values, Regions’ equity would be less than zero.

Meanwhile, the government continues to classify Regions as “well capitalized.”

While disclosures of this sort aren’t new, their frequency is. This summer’s round of interim financial reports marked the first time U.S. companies had to publish the fair market values of all their financial instruments on a quarterly basis. Before, such disclosures had been required only annually under the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s rules.

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=a04oVutXQybk

[unlawflcombatnt]

1. Interesting article

And, by the way, I like your signature line:

"I don't mind Obama so much. It's the people in power that I can't stand."

I'd mind Obama a lot less if he fired (or didn't reappoint) his gaggle of economic plutocrats: Bernanke, Geithner, Summers, et al
--and replaced them with some economic populists like Stiglitz, Ravi Batra, Michael Hudson, Paul Craig Roberts--and even Karl Denninger.

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. and/or Max Keiser, Jim Rogers.

All of whom seem to make sense of what is really going on and seem to be totally ignored.

oh wait...the political game IS to ignore the total sense.
My bad.

[Scruffy1]

5. Ecconomists

You are so right. They haven't shown any interest at all in the foreclosure mess, Just running around putting out fires for the big boys.

[Po_d Mainiac]

2. The FDIC is w8ing for a bit of cash before shutting down this bad boy

:wtf: is this line doing in an article dated Aug 14? "The agency’s insurance fund fell to $13 billion as of March 31" Said agency being the FDIC

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aXsSaA6DJw_4

Oh, I get it. :bounce: $826 million just won't buy as many banks as it used to. FDIC would have to issue rubber (if it didn't already with Colonial)

Note figures are in $-million

[dixiegrrrrl]

4. Part of that is the mark to market thing.

The FDIC could afford to cover more banks losses IF the banks had not been allowed to claim their losses at the mark to market level.
It is sorta like getting the insurance company to pay for all your Wal-Mart jewelry at Tiffany prices.
One of the several reasons FDIC is being taken for a ride.

[Po_d Mainiac]

7. DG, can U expound on this?

I haven't read or heard where the FDIC has taken the road that AIG (for example) took and paid full bore? But that don't mean it's not happening. (my brain has had neuron gaps before)

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. Hey, Po_d Mainiac....I gotta track back to where i got that.

I read so much of the stuff..I think it was Deninnger.
gimme a bit to find the exact info.
right now we are watching the storm coming in, and taking things off the deck, ect.

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. ok..here ya go.

the money quote:

"have recently been taking losses of up to 40% across ENTIRE ASSET BASES WHEN THEY CLOSE INSTITUTIONS.
"BLUNTLY, THIS MEANS THAT THE BANKS ARE "VALUING" THESE ASSETS A FULL FORTY PERCENT ABOVE THE MARKET - A MASSIVE LIE THAT IS UNCOVERED WHEN CASH-FLOW FAILURES ULTIMATELY FORCE SEIZURE."
the full quote: and link after that:

What's worse is that the lying continues today. Not content to rip you off by assessing your local community bank (who did nothing wrong) and forcing them to raise fees on you as a consumer to cover the sins of banks like Colonial and even IndyMac (which was tapped by the OIG for conspiring with the OTS to improperly backdate deposits!) the FDIC, OTS and OCC are STILL refusing to force these institutions to take REALISTIC marks on their assets and closing those that are headed underwater BEFORE their Tier Capital ratios go below zero and cause insurance fund losses.

As a consequence the FDIC continues to suffer huge losses compared to the asset base of these seized institutions.

The entire strategy of Treasury (including OTS and OCC) along with the FDIC has been one of "extend and pretend" - that is, look the other way for now and pretend that loans on severely-impaired assets will "come back" and either begin performing again or the asset valuation will improve so they can be sold without booking a crippling loss. That is, the strategy is to intentionally lie about the current valuation and status of these loans so as to avoid the necessity under the law of closing institutions that, on any rational basis, failed as long as two years ago!
Read the whole thing, worth every sentence of it:

NOTE: THE ARTICLE IS HALFWAY DOWN THE PAGE, UNDER THE PENSION STORY.

http://market-ticker.denninger.net/archives/P1.html

[Po_d Mainiac]

10. Hmm

Me thinks u got it backasswards...Karl's point is that the banksters are not "marking to market" therefore putting off the inevitable.

[dixiegrrrrl]

11. oops....I left out an important word, and i thank you for the keen eyes.

Fster fingers than eyes, I guess.
Yes... your reading is correct.

[notesdev]

6. As would ALL of the major U.S. banks and many of the big international ones

They're all lying, they're all insolvent. The only solvent banks left are the community banks who got screwed left and right during the bubble years for doing business honestly while the thieves were running rampant (and then again by the FDIC, to the benefit of those same thieves).

[DemReadingDU]

12. How troubled is that bank or credit union?

Really good statistics!

Track your bank here
http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/banks

Track your credit union here
http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/credit-unions


I see that while my banks troubled asset ratio is double the national median, my credit union troubled asset ratio is just slightly above the national median. However, the CU's ratio has doubled from a year ago when it was lower than the national median. uh oh.


Here is the link for the big troubled Colonial Bank that closed this weekend
http://banktracker.investigativereportingworkshop.org/banks/alabama/montgomery/colonial-bank