Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 9th, 2014 As the DOW approaches the 17,000 mark, many are asking whether we are experiencing a repeat of the 2006-2008 bubble? One driving aspect of the financial crisis of 2008 was the volume of over-valued property loans held by banks. Loans secured by real estate typically make up… [Read More]
THE HOUSING RECOVERY IS NOT FOR ALL
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on May 9th, 2014 The New York Times has an opinion editorial by Peter Dreier about the housing recovery. While housing has recovered extremely well in large Urban centers and some other parts, reports about rising home prices suggest that the tens of millions of people whose homes lost value just have… [Read More]
U. S. MORTGAGE RELIEF PROGRAM ON ROBO-SIGNED FORECLOSURES ALMOST AGREED UPON.
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on February 6th, 2012 A deal is about to be agreed upon for the Obama led multibillion-dollar mortgage relief settlement to address foreclosure abuses by large banks between 2007 and 2011. The potential support from California and New York comes in exchange for tightening provisions of the settlement to preserve the right to… [Read More]
MORE THAN JUST GREEN SHOOTS: A RECOVERY IS WELL UNDER WAY
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 23rd, 2012 A recovery is under way. And now there is absolutely no doubt about it. I hear it from my very wealthiest clients most of whom are scrambling to put deals together before prices rise. I even heard one say the other day he was willing to pay… [Read More]
JUNIOR BANKER PAY FREEZE?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 10th, 2012 Bloomberg reported to-day that large banks are considering freezing the pay of junior bankers in light of diminished profitability of their institutions. What this really equates to is that the more senior bankers will do whatever it takes to maintain the quality of their incomes: Banks face… [Read More]
BANKS POISED FOR DISMAL FOURTH QUARTER RESULTS: BAD FOR NEW YORK?
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on January 7th, 2012 Banks will start posting results for the fourth quarter and year end starting next week, and the results are poised to be weak. Weak results result in many things, so here is my evaluation: 1) Bonuses will probably be down rather sharply from last year, I… [Read More]
THE STUPIDITY OF GOVERNMENT-THINK BANKS
Posted by Leonard Steinberg on June 29th, 2011 Some banks are being like governments right now: stupid. When banks do not want to lend to highly qualified, super-reliable, well educated, credit worthy clients, we should conclude that we have a MAJOR problem. When these same banks make everything in the application process so difficult, cumbersome,… [Read More]
HOUSE SWAP, ECONOMY-BOOSTER STYLE?
The economy is experiencing a unique problem: unemployed people who are able to find good jobs in alternative cities are unable to take the jobs as they cannot sell their homes as many mortgages are worth more than the homes in this current market. Why not introduce a NATIONAL HOUSE-TRADE BANK/DATA BASE, whereby someone could… [Read More]