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Monday, August 29, 2011

NY Times: Headwinds for the Big Banks

by Calculated Risk on 8/29/2011 12:00:00 AM

Nothing new, but a summary of some of the headwinds for the large banks face - and the prospects for more layoffs (ht Brian).

From Eric Dash at the NY Times: As Fortunes Dim, Banks Confront a Leaner Future

Battered by a weak economy, the nation’s biggest banks are cutting jobs, consolidating businesses and scrambling for new sources of income ... UBS has announced 3,500 layoffs, 5 percent of its staff, and Citigroup is quietly cutting dozens of traders. Bank of America could cut as many as 10,000 jobs, or 3.5 percent of its work force. ABN Amro, Barclays, Bank of New York Mellon, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs, HSBC, Lloyds, State Street and Wells Fargo have in recent months all announced plans to cut jobs — tens of thousands all told.
...
Lending, the prime driver of revenue, has been depressed for several years and is not expected to pick up anytime soon ... Trading profits have also been waning amid a slowdown in volumes, and Wall Street’s once-lucrative mortgage packaging business is unlikely to bring in the blockbuster fees it earned during the housing boom.

On top of that, the financial regulations enacted by Congress last year are causing banks to add more risk managers and compliance staff ...
Yesterday:
Summary for Week Ending August 26th (with plenty of graphs)
Schedule for Week of Aug 28th