OT: Another bank bites the dust

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 12:58 pm

The outlook for the UK is not looking good. Make sure you're wearing your seatbelts, it's gonna be a rough ride.

Meef Chaloin · Post by **Meef Chaloin** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:00 pm

which bank are you talking about?

see the light · Post by **see the light** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:01 pm

Funny thing is, i'm partly to blame - Credit card, Mortgage, Overdraft all in the red with Halifax...

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:03 pm

HBOS (Halifax/Bank Of Scotland), currently in merger talks. The cost of capital in this country is going to sky rocket - no more loans, credit cards, overdrafts, mortgages, etc.

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:03 pm

see the light wrote:Funny thing is, i'm partly to blame - Credit card, Mortgage, Overdraft all in the red with Halifax...

We have the culprit!

jeskola · Post by **jeskola** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:11 pm

On the London market, HBOS shares have seen wild swings during morning trading, climbing as high as 220p and falling as low as 88p.

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:17 pm

jeskola wrote:
On the London market, HBOS shares have seen wild swings during morning trading, climbing as high as 220p and falling as low as 88p.

Any company short-selling on those will be making a fortune; hedge funds really are pissing on the investment banks right now.

hambone1 · Post by **hambone1** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:24 pm

It IS going to be a rough ride.

Irresponsible borrowing, credit materialism and the "me me me I want it now" consumer culture are rapidly coming to an end. We didn't have the responsibility for our own actions ourselves, so the system is going to force it on us.

It will make us to rethink our morals, values, and what's really important in life.

That's not a bad thing.

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:26 pm

hambone1 wrote:It IS going to be a rough ride.

Irresponsible borrowing, credit, consumerism, materialism and the "me me me I want it now" culture are rapidly coming to an end. We didn't have the responsibility for our own actions ourselves, so the system is going to force it on us.

It will make us to rethink our morals, values, and what's really important in life.

That's not a bad thing.

Totally agree, it's a mopping up exercise after the carefree party.

Emissary · Post by **Emissary** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:32 pm

rough ride my arse, the government told me its all going to be ok, i trust them with my life, and all my personal details.

Meef Chaloin · Post by **Meef Chaloin** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:37 pm

how does a bank go out of business? They don't start with any money in the first place

b0unce · Post by **b0unce** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:38 pm

Emissary wrote:rough ride my arse

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:40 pm

Emissary wrote:rough ride my arse, the government told me its all going to be ok, i trust them with my life, and all my personal details.

Me too. My brother works for Revenue & Customs and I've been in several of their offices - if you could see what goes on in there and the idiots trying to run the place it would give you nightmares for months.

Post by **[dfi]** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:41 pm

http://www.zeitgeistmovie.com/

NorthernMonkey · Post by **NorthernMonkey** » Wed Sep 17, 2008 1:44 pm

Meef Chaloin wrote:how does a bank go out of business? They don't start with any money in the first place

Basically the flow of money, i.e. credit, dries up between banks as they start to worry about the real value of their financial assets (and in the US, the sub-prime mortgages) and as a result they stop lending (between banks) and hold onto what they have - most banks have recently been very risky regarding their strategies as they have been heavily reliant on borrowing money to make money, and now there isn't any to borrow, so it's good-bye bank.

Bearing the above in mind, in the case of HBOS, as their share price tumbles, other banks are even less likely to lend them any money, so they really don't stand a chance of surviving and have to sell up. Also in the case where a financial institution might hold assets that directly affect the people on the street, i.e. mortgages, insurance, etc., the government is more likely to step in to stop any ruthless investors that would otherwise bleed the end customer dry. It's all very, very messy right now.

My advice: do not take on any unnecessary debt!