From the Seattle Times: a href=”http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/businesstechnology/2008941813_banks29.html”Washington’s banks under stress/a (ht Lyle) blockquoteAiling financial giants such as Citigroup, Bank of America and AIG have drawn most of the attention as the worst banking crisis since the Great Depression grinds on.br /br /But several of Washington’s community banks also are clearly straining under the weight of the crisis, a Seattle Times analysis shows.br /br /At least a dozen of the 52 Washington-based banks examined are carrying heavy loads of past-due loans, defaults and foreclosed properties relative to their financial resources. …br /br /While banks big and small have been kneecapped by the collapse of the housing bubble, the crisis has played out differently for the big “money center” banks and the thousands of regional and community banks sprinkled across the country.br /br /The main problem for the big banks and investment firms has been exotic instruments such as collateralized mortgage obligations, structured investment vehicles and credit-default swaps — all tied, one way or another, to pools of residential mortgages that were bought, sold, sliced up and repackaged like so much salami.br /…br /But at most community banks, residential mortgages were a relatively small part of their business. Instead, their troubles are tied directly to their heavy dependence on real-estate loans — mainly loans to local builders and developers.br /br /”Many community banks found that (construction and development loans) was an area in which they could compete effectively against the big banks,” Frontier’s Fahey said.br /br /At Frontier Bank, for example, construction and development loans made up 44.5 percent of all assets at year’s end. City Bank had 53.3 percent of its assets in such loans, and at Seattle Bank (until recently Seattle Savings Bank), they constituted a full 54.2 percent of total assets.br /…br /Regulators can act to bring wobbly banks back into balance, short of seizing them outright. Four Washington banks — Horizon, Frontier, Westsound and Bank Reale of Pasco — are operating under FDIC “corrective action plans” that place tight restrictions on their lending practices, management and overall operations.br /br /But sometimes, such plans just delay the inevitable. Last year, for instance, the FDIC imposed corrective action plans on Pinnacle Bank and Silver Falls Bank, both of Oregon; in February, both were seized./blockquote This article makes a couple of key points that we’ve been discussing: many community and regional banks sidestepped the residential mortgage debacle, and focused on local commercial real estate (CRE) and construction development (CD) lending. Now, with rapidly increasing defaults on CD and CRE loans, the high concentrations of CRE and CD loans at these banks will lead to many bank failures. And unlike the “too big to fail” banks, these community banks will just be seized by the FDIC.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/10004977-1089688783459360944?l=www.calculatedriskblog.com’//div
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Form Bloomberg: a href=”http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087sid=aSqaKl7GAbDQ”Omni National Bank in Georgia Shut, 21st U.S. Failure/a (ht Brad) blockquoteOmni National Bank of Atlanta was seized by federal regulators, the 21st U.S. bank to fail this year …br /br /Omni National, with $980 million in assets, was shut by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. was named receiver, the OCC said today in a statement. …br /br /The failed bank had six branches in Georgia, Illinois, Florida and Texas, and two loan offices in Alabama and Pennsylvania, the OCC said. The lender opened in 2000. The FDIC, which arranges to sell the deposits and assets of failed banks, didn’t immediately identify a buyer for Omni National./blockquote No word from the FDIC yet. Did Bloomberg jump the gun?div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/10004977-919661643794851238?l=www.calculatedriskblog.com’//div
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My 30th birthday is fast approaching, and while I haven’t been vocal about it like some of my friends (love ‘em for it!), I can’t help but notice that the something inside me is changing. It’s not that my life has evolved significantly in any way, or that I’ve become unhappy with where I am, rather, the thoughts that used to occupy my mind have been replaced with much heavier constructs. span class=”fullpost”br /br /In my early 20’s, I used to spend time fretting about a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2004/12/may-day-pay-day.html”living paycheck to paycheck/a, how my relationship might be affected by a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2005/12/contemplating-next-steps.html”career decisions/a and a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2005/08/shades-of-doubt.html”where to invest my money/a. What to wear and where to go were always important decisions, as was a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2006/12/december-31.html”how I spent my money/a in general. But as I grew and learned more about my finances and myself, I felt more and more in control of my future and more relaxed and confident about where I was headed.br /br /Lately, though, I find my thoughts drifting off in other directions, into places where I have less control. I’m anxious about my parents’ finances during their imminent retirement and, though they are still young and relatively healthy, their health care once they retire. I’ve learned how to save my money, but I can’t figure out how to balance my needs for a stable future with the need to invest and take a risk. I worry that I’m putting my career (and B’s journey to find one) ahead of my desire to have a family. Things are going well, but now that I’ve spent so much time working to get “here,” a whole new set of worries has replaced what I thought would be the time when I enjoy the fruits of my labor.br /br /I imagine that many of you have dealt with the same set of worries. Any advice you can share about how you deal with the nagging questions and find balance among your priorities would be much appreciated!br //spandiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/9379743-3287384003817509575?l=budgetingbabe.blogspot.com’//div

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Martin Wolf writes in the Financial Times: a href=”http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1bdc2a28-1890-11de-bec8-0000779fd2ac.html”Successful bank rescue still far away/a. (ht Bierca) An except on the Geithner Toxic Plan: blockquote[W]ill it work? That depends on what one means by “work”. This is not a true market mechanism, because the government is subsidising the risk-bearing. Prices may not prove low enough to entice buyers or high enough to satisfy sellers. Yet the scheme may improve the dire state of banks’ trading books. This cannot be a bad thing, can it? Well, yes, it can, if it gets in the way of more fundamental solutions, because almost nobody – certainly not the Treasury – thinks this scheme will end the chronic under-capitalisation of US finance.br /…br /Why might this scheme get in the way of the necessary recapitalisation? There are two reasons: first, Congress may decide this scheme makes recapitalisation less important; second and more important, this scheme is likely to make recapitalisation by government even more unpopular.br /…br /[I]magine what happens if, after “stress tests” of the country’s biggest banks are completed, the government concludes – surprise, surprise! – that it needs to provide more capital. How will it persuade Congress to pay up?br /br /The danger is that this scheme will, at best, achieve something not particularly important – making past loans more liquid – at the cost of making harder something that is essential – recapitalising banks.br /br /This matters because the government has ruled out the only way of restructuring the banks’ finances that would not cost any extra government money: debt for equity swaps, or a true bankruptcy.br /…br /I fear, however, that the alternative – adequate public sector recapitalisation – is also going to prove impossible. Provision of public money to banks is unacceptable to an increasingly enraged public, while government ownership of recapitalised banks is unacceptable to the still influential bankers. This seems to be an impasse.br /…br /The conclusion, alas, is depressing. Nobody can be confident that the US yet has a workable solution to its banking disaster. On the contrary, with the public enraged, Congress on the war-path, the president timid and a policy that depends on the government’s ability to pour public money into undercapitalised institutions, the US is at an impasse.br /…br /If this is not frightening, I do not know what is./blockquotediv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/10004977-7293367243342037975?l=www.calculatedriskblog.com’//div
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From the a href=”http://www.census.gov/indicator/www/m3/”Census Bureau/a: blockquoteNew orders for manufactured durable goods in February increased $5.5 billion or 3.4 percent to $165.6 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This increase follows six consecutive monthly decreases, including a 7.3 percent January decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 3.9 percent. Excluding defense, new orders increased 1.7 percent./blockquote This appears to be a small bounce back from six consecutive monthly declines in durable goods. br /br /This is still a decline of 22% from February 2008.div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/10004977-3493761805904616690?l=www.calculatedriskblog.com’//div
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From TPM: a href=”http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/03/geithner-we-dont-need-no-stinkin-contingencies.php”We Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Contingencies/abr /br /Rep. Gresham Barrett: What is the backup plan?br /br /Secretary Geithner: This plan will work.br /br /centerobject width=”425″ height=”344″param name=”movie” value=”http://www.youtube.com/v/U7GJvw_POAEhl=enfs=1″/paramparam name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/paramparam name=”allowscriptaccess” value=”always”/paramembed src=”http://www.youtube.com/v/U7GJvw_POAEhl=enfs=1″ type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowscriptaccess=”always” allowfullscreen=”true” width=”425″ height=”344″/embed/object/centerdiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/10004977-2328748180117510361?l=www.calculatedriskblog.com’//div
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a href=”http://www.self.com/images/elements/print/self_printlogo.gif”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 170px; height: 100px;” src=”http://www.self.com/images/elements/print/self_printlogo.gif” border=”0″ alt=”" //abr /Good news. Yet another mainstream women’s magazine is getting into the PF blogosphere: Self online this month introduced a href=”http://www.self.com/health/blogs/savelikeme/ “”Save Like Me,” /awritten by MP Dunleavy, who writes the the award-winning Women in Red series for MSN Money and the “Cost of Living” column for The New York Times. Her first book, “Money Can Buy Happiness,” recently won the “2007 Books for a Better Life Award” for personal finance. Check it out - it’s definitely worth a read.br /br /(And as always on the quick hits, ignore this command) — span class=”fullpost”br /br / /spandiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/9379743-8237152018645151941?l=budgetingbabe.blogspot.com’//div

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If you missed this, Zach Fox at the North County Times had an incredible story: a href=”http://nctimes.com/articles/2009/03/19/business/z8bf28a6caf4565098825757d00707bd4.txt”HOUSING: Banks selling properties in bulk for cheap /a blockquoteFor example, a unit of Citigroup, the troubled financial giant, sold a foreclosure in Temecula to an Arizona investment firm for $139,000 when comparable homes in the area were selling for $240,000 to $260,000.br /br /The firm listed the home for $249,000, received multiple offers and the property has entered escrow, said Amber Schlieder, the real estate agent who handled the listing./blockquote Citi just left $100,000 on the table.br /br /I hear stories like this all the time.br /br /Here is a a href=”http://kcet.org/socal/season-1/episode-119/”short video from KCET/a with a couple more examples (these are short sales):br /br /centerobject width=”564″ height=”348″ id=”cf155e9oi” name=”cf155e9on” classid=”clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000″param name=”movie” value=”http://p.castfire.com/fcieq/video/58406/58406_2009-02-06-174906.flv”/paramparam name=”allowFullScreen” value=”true”/paramparam name=”allowScriptAccess” value=”always”/paramembed width=”564″ height=”348″ src=”http://p.castfire.com/fcieq/video/58406/58406_2009-02-06-174906.flv” id=”cf155e9ei” name=”cf155e9en” type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” allowFullScreen=”true” allowScriptAccess=”always”/embed/object/centerbr /br /Clearly the banks are overwhelmed and the process is broken. Maybe there is an opportunity here for added transparency …div class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/10004977-4156258449745590279?l=www.calculatedriskblog.com’//div
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Yesterday I posted the first in a series of tips on how to save smart during spring, the season that calls me to spend, spend, spend every year. Here are a few more strategies.br /br /strongTip 2. Put your friends on alert./strongbr /If you were trying to lose 10 lbs., you’d tell your girlfriends, right? You’d want them to know why you’ve suddenly gone vegan and are committed to running a 10K in two months. And you’d expect their full support.br /br /Why shouldn’t savings goals be the same? span class=”fullpost” The next time you’re out with friends, try this, “Ladies, I’m trying really hard to hit my savings goals this spring so I need to be extra budget conscious and I wanted you to know.” The point here is that you need them to stop pressuring you to go everywhere and do everything, and be supportive when you can’t. Once they know you’re on a budget, you might need to suggest cheap eats or free group activities (lazy day on the beach, anyone?); true friends will glady join you.br /br /And lest you think this tip only applies to single gals – mommies, I’ve seen the admissions fees for amusement parks and they ain’t pretty. Get creative; sometimes a hike at the local state park fuels the imagination as much as a well-engineered roller coaster.br /br /strongTip 3. Do it automatically./strongbr /If you read my blog regularly, this should be burned into your brain by now: Pay yourself first. Use direct deposit to make sure your savings account and 401k get a portion of your salary before you ever see it. Spring or winter, this is always a smart strategy. br /br /strongTip 3. Travel frugally this spring./strongbr /Flights are cheap again! Surely that’s reason to celebrate. Unfortunately, many people won’t be able to take advantage of the low fares due to the economy. But if your wanderlust calls (and trust me, mine usually does during the spring), save some extra cash by cashing on a friend’s couch. You can read about my couch-crashing experience a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2008/06/vacation-alternatives-for-expensive.html”here/a. br /br /Staycations are, of course, another option. But I find those don’t quite quench the thirst to travel. The point is to experience new things in new places, which is hard to do in your own ‘hood.br /br /strongTip 4. Coupon it up./strongbr /I recently heard that couponing web sites were the #1 fastest growing on the web last quarter. Makes sense, right? But coupons are for more than just groceries. I’ve noticed major retailers like REI, J.Crew and Anne Taylor Loft offering great discounts and incentives through coupons lately. To take advantage, be sure to visit your favorite store’s web site before you shop there, and also sign up for the mailing list and twitter feed. br /br /strongTip 5. Read everyone you can./strongbr /Let’s say you wanted to start training for a race. Wouldn’t you visit some well-respected running/swimming/biking sites to find a training schedule, information on injuries, nutrition tips and motivation information? Well, think of reaching your savings goals just like you might training your body to get in shape: You need coaching, and you need a lot of it.br /br /I won’t pretend to have all the answers, but I think you can learn a lot during the rainy days this spring by reading some well-respected PF divas and dudes like a href=”http://www.jeanchatzky.com/”Jean Chatzky /a, a href=”http://www.suzeorman.com/”Suze Orman/a and a href=”http://www.daveramsey.com/”Dave Ramsey/a, as well as financial web sites like a href=”http://www.kiplinger.com”Kiplinger.com/a and a href=”http://money.cnn.com/”Money Magazine /a. Finally, be sure to check out my “a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2008/06/meet-few-of-my-favorite-budgeting.html”Best PF Bloggers/a” to find other PF blogs to add to your reading list. Good, sound advice is really lurking around every corner if you know where to look. You can be a savvy saver in no time this spring.br /br /strongTip 6. Use your tax refund wisely. /strongbr /I’m torn here. I know it’s best for the economy if we all go out and spend our tax refunds, but I also know there are some who can afford to spend and others who cannot. So on this topic, I will say: the majority of my readers probably need to save their cash right now. If you have bad debt, don’t have a savings cushion and have an unstable job, you probably shouldn’t spend your tax refund on frivolous things. If you have a savings cushion, though, and a stable job, do the rest of us a favor and buy a refrigerator or a new computer or something. (Just remember to use coupons and get your money’s worth.)br /br /strongTip 7. Pick up a hobby./strongbr /OK, this is also recycled territory for me. But what better time to pick up a cheap, healthy outdoor hobby than spring? If you’re running every day (or walking or biking or playing volleyball or whatever), you’re not spending money. It’s that simple. Let the warm weather inspire you to a better waistline and bottom line.br /br /strongTip 8. Visit America Saves./strongbr /a href=”http://www.americasaves.org/resources/savings_tip.asp”Here’s/a another great resource with zillions of things I haven’t even considered. br /br /strongTip 9. Walk everywhere./strongbr /It’s nice outside, so save money on gas by walking to pick up your groceries, library books, kids from school and anywhere else within a mile or two. br /br /strongTip 10. (For renters…) Move!/strongbr /Spring is the best time for moving, with a dearth of apartments open and the weather relatively accommodating. If you can’t find wiggle room in your budget, even after making serious changes, you may need to find cheaper rent. Check your local listings to see what apartments are going for now and how much you can save. I’ve heard from a few people that it’s a good time due to so many people trying to downgrade their homes and condos (and in need of renters).br / br //spandiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/9379743-6746658707565067512?l=budgetingbabe.blogspot.com’//div

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a href=”http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/62219081/Pink_Gerber_Daisy_normal.jpg”img style=”float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 48px; height: 48px;” src=”http://s3.amazonaws.com/twitter_production/profile_images/62219081/Pink_Gerber_Daisy_normal.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”" //abr /If you live in a cold weather climate like me, you know how easy it is to save money during the winter; you don’t feel like leaving the couch because the car door is frozen shut, you’re dressed in a down comforter and the ice is too treacherous for anything but Uggs. But as soon as St. Patty’s day passes, we Northerners feel the urge to spend on anything and everything, regardless of whether we want or need it.br /br /Personally, I feel it’s my duty a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2007/04/spring-me-bff.html”to take advantage of the beautiful weather/a … that concert I hate? Sure I’ll go! It’s too nice a day to waste in my apartment! Those ugly padded bike shorts? Throw ‘em in the cart! I’m bound to ride every other day in the lovely sun! We’re eating out again tonight? Well, if it’s al fresco, it’s a must! …The cycle enthusiastically goes on and on. span class=”fullpost”br /br /The spring spending cycle is good for business, but for those of us trying to reach our savings goals, a 70-degree day is enough to derail our monthly dining and entertainment budgets completely. So how can a fiscally responsible gal take advantage of the warmer weather without going for broke? Try a few of these smart saving strategies to start spring on the right foot.br /br /strongTip 1: Stop and think about it./strongbr /Let’s pretend it’s Saturday afternoon and you’re running to Target to pick up supplies and Rubbermaid bins for spring cleaning. While there, you spy you bff browsing cute new summer dresses. She invites you out to day drink and watch the NCAA games. You agree because, hell-o, it’s 65 out and sunny.br /br /Two previously unnecessary dresses and $45 later, you’re off to the watering hole where you spend $50 on lunch and a few rounds of drinks. While there, you notice you’re late to meet a few friends for dinner, so you run home, change and take a $25 cab (it’s too late for a bus) to your $25 dinner, followed by another $40 on evening activities with the girls.br /br /The next day, you know you had a great night, but your spending hangover leaves you feeling guilty and swearing off your friends for the next two weeks. When I was overspending,a href=”http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/2008/04/land-of-bad-financial-decisions.html” some variation of this scenario/a seemed to occur nearly every weekend in the spring and summer.br /br /Sound familiar to you? Well, rest assured, I come bearing good news. While those of us on a budget can’t say yes to everything, it doesn’t mean we can’t have fun. In the scenario above, we could have made the following smart savings moves, had we stopped to think about them:br //liulliStayed away from shopping Target for cleaning supplies (the clothing racks are always too tempting)/li/ululliStayed away from shopping Target for cleaning supplies (the clothing racks are always too tempting) /li/ululliTold that friend at Target to watch the afternoon games at our house over home-made Margaritas/li/ululliOr, met that friend at the bar after we had lunch at home /li/ululliLooked at our watch often enough to know when we needed to leave in order to take the train to meet our other friends/li/ululliHad a glass of water between each drink out to cut down on the total cost of the night/li/ululliDone research ahead of time to find specials on dinner and drinks/li/ulAt any point of the day in the scenario, we had the chance to think about the actions we were taking and make a good decision. But we were too swept up in the moment to notice it.br /br /The next time you find yourself saying yes to unplanned activity just because it’s a nice day, stop and think for a minute. Ask yourself these questions:br /br /olliHow will this interfere with what I already planned to do today? Will it make me run late? Will I need to replan my travel or today’s budget?/liliCan I take one simple step to make today cheaper?/liliDo I need to drop everything and do it right now, or can I take 15 minutes to make some adjustments that will save me a few dollars?/liliDo I want to do this? How will I feel after I do this?/ol/libr /Your answer to the above questions will help you determine how quickly you can adapt to the change of plans in a budget-friendly way. Sometimes, the best way to save money is to stop and think about the choices you make to understand how they can affect your bottom line.br /br /More coming on this topic tomorrow!br /br //liul/ul/spandiv class=”blogger-post-footer”img width=’1′ height=’1′ src=’http://res1.blogblog.com/tracker/9379743-5761283401185488127?l=budgetingbabe.blogspot.com’//div

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