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wen i heard it on di radio, dem seh is cause dem want some a di free money weh a gi weh 
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American Express to become a bank
The US Federal Reserve granted American Express' request to become a commercial bank, opening the door for the credit card giant to accept deposits and permanently access financing.
The Fed said late on Monday night it had approved the application for American Express and a related company, American Express Travel Related Services Co, to become bank holding companies.
The approval represented the latest reshaping of the financial services industry, which is undergoing its worst credit crisis in decades.
In announcing the action, the Fed cited "emergency conditions". AmEx filed its application with the Fed on November 5.
The Fed's approval for American Express was similar to the decision it made in September to transform the country's two biggest investment banks, Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley, into bank holding companies.
That move bolstered the two institutions after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, which became the largest bankruptcy filing in US history. The investment banks' troubles stemmed from bad bets on the housing market, including mortgage-backed securities.
In the case of AmEx, with more consumers having trouble paying their bills, it is seen the value of its primary assets decline. That has made it harder for the company to borrow to pay for daily operations.
In a statement, AmEx said becoming a bank holding company would give it "maximum flexibility and stability in this challenging economic environment".
In exchange for Fed oversight, AmEx said it wanted "greater access" to government-sponsored financial assistance programmes.
The company revealed severe financial troubles late last month, when it shed about 7,000 people, or 10% of its global workforce, and said it did not expect to meet its targets until the economic climate improved. -
Re: American Express to become a bank
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-style: italic">In the case of AmEx, with more consumers having trouble paying their bills, <span style="font-weight: bold">it is seen the value of its primary assets decline</span>. </span> </div></div>
Yikes! The site this came from needs better writers & editors. This comes in like those scam e-mails from Nigeria: difficult to take seriously because of the misspellings and shaky grammar.Comment
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Re: did i hear dat AMEX gwine to become a bank
suh everybaddy a tun bank now
mi guh out pan mi main street and buck up one new bank
TD Bank, a canadian bank, nevah even know dem had branches hereComment
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Re: American Express to become a bank
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BlackStar</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><span style="font-style: italic">In the case of AmEx, with more consumers having trouble paying their bills, <span style="font-weight: bold">it is seen the value of its primary assets decline</span>. </span> </div></div>
Yikes! The site this came from needs better writers & editors. This comes in like those scam e-mails from Nigeria: difficult to take seriously because of the misspellings and shaky grammar. </div></div>
chile a so it a go dese days..even Gleaner ha some good ones at time...mi wonda if dem correct english in journalism school anymore....
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Re: American Express to become a bank
November 12, 2008
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="color: #003300">Lobbyists Swarm the Treasury for Piece of Bailout Pie</span></span></span>
By MARK LANDLER and DAVID D. KIRKPATRICK
WASHINGTON — When the government said it would spend $700 billion to rescue the nation’s financial industry, it seemed to be an ocean of money. But after one of the biggest lobbying free-for-alls in memory, it suddenly looks like a dwindling pool.
Many new supplicants are lining up for an infusion of capital as billions of dollars are channeled to other beneficiaries like the American International Group, and possibly soon American Express.
Of the initial $350 billion that Congress freed up, out of the $700 billion in bailout money contained in the law that passed last month, the Treasury Department has committed all but $60 billion. The shrinking pie — and the growing uncertainty over who qualifies — has thrown Washington’s legal and lobbying establishment into a mad scramble.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 11pt">The Treasury Department is under siege by an army of hired guns for banks, savings and loan associations and insurers — as well as for improbable candidates like a Hispanic business group representing plumbing and home-heating specialists. That last group wants the Treasury to hire its members as contractors to take care of houses that the government may end up owning through buying distressed mortgages.</span>
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The lobbying frenzy worries many traditional bankers — the original targets of the rescue program — who fear that it could blur, or even undermine, the government’s effort to stabilize the financial system after its worst crisis since the 1930s.
Among the most rattled are community bankers.
“By the time they get to the community banks, there may not be enough money left,” said Edward L. Yingling, the president of the American Bankers Association. “The marketplace is looking at this so rapidly that those who have the money first may have some advantage.”
Adding to the frenzy is the possibility that the next Congress and White House could change the rules further. President-elect Barack Obama has added his voice by proposing that the struggling automakers get federal aid, which could mean giving them access to the fund — something the Treasury secretary, Henry M. Paulson Jr., has resisted.
Despite the line outside its door, the Treasury is not worried about running out of money, according to a senior official. It has no plans to ask lawmakers to free the second $350 billion of the rescue package during the special session of Congress that could begin next week.
That could limit the pot of money available, at least until the next Congress is sworn in next January. Meanwhile, the list of candidates for a piece of the bailout keeps growing.
On Monday, the Treasury announced it would inject an additional $40 billion into A.I.G., amid signs that the government’s original bailout plan was putting too much strain on the company. American Express won approval Monday to transform itself into a bank holding company, making the giant marketer of credit cards eligible for an infusion.
<span style="font-size: 11pt"><span style="font-weight: bold">Then there is the National Marine Manufacturers Association, which is asking whether boat financing companies might be eligible for aid to ensure that dealers have access to credit to stock their showrooms with boats — costs have gone up as the credit markets have calcified. Using much the same rationale, the National Automobile Dealers Association is pleading that car dealers get consideration, too.</span></span>
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of good news for them individually,” said Jeb Mason, who as the Treasury’s liaison to the business community is the first port-of-call for lobbyists. “The government shouldn’t be in the business of picking winners and losers among industries.”
Mr. Mason, 32, a lanky Texan in black cowboy boots who once worked in the White House for Karl Rove, shook his head over the dozens of phone calls and e-mail messages he gets every week. “I was telling a friend, ‘this must have been how the Politburo felt,’ ” he said.
The Congressional bailout law gave the Treasury broad authority to decide how to spend the $700 billion. Under the terms of the $250 billion capital purchase program announced last month, cash infusions are available to “qualifying U.S. banks, savings associations, and certain bank and savings and loan holding companies, engaged only in financial activities.”
That definition has grown to include private banks and insurers like Allstate and MetLife, which own savings and loans. It may also encompass industrial lenders like GE Capital and GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors, provided they win approval to reclassify themselves as a bank or savings and loan holding company.
The Treasury set a deadline of Friday for institutions to apply for capital investments, which has meant a grueling few weeks for already overworked officials like Mr. Mason.
“Jeb is like the customer service agent at Verizon when the power lines go down,” said Robert S. Nichols, president of the Financial Services Forum, a trade group for big institutions like Citigroup, Fidelity and Allstate Insurance, some of which have received federal money.
The influential independent and community bankers group, which represents smaller institutions, won an extension of the deadline for privately held banks while the Treasury considers a way for them to participate in its program as well.
The Treasury, several industry executives said, wants to avoid too strict a definition of eligible institutions, in case the Obama administration decides it wants to tweak the requirements for an investment, or even overhaul the rescue program.
Several lobbyists said the Treasury’s model contract acknowledges the possibility that Congress could impose new requirements on recipients of the money, and some Democratic lawmakers have talked about further restricting executive compensation, shareholder dividends or other uses of the money as part of the deal.
“We are like a tenant signing a lease contract with the landlord where the landlord can come back and change the terms after the fact, and in fact we are going to have a new landlord in a couple of weeks,” said Mr. Yingling of the bankers association.
The first wave of lobbying came in early October when Mr. Paulson announced the plan to buy troubled mortgage-related assets from banks. The Treasury said it would hire several outside firms to handle the purchases, and would dispense with federal contracting rules.
Law and lobbying firms that specialize in government contracting fired off dispatches to clients and potential clients explaining opportunities in the new program. Capitalizing on the surge of interest, several large firms, including Patton Boggs; Akin Gump; P & L Gates; Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson; and Alston & Bird, have set up financial rescue shops.
Alston & Bird, for example, highlights its two biggest stars — former Senator Bob Dole and former Senator Tom Daschle. Mr. Dole “knows Hank Paulson very well” and has been “very helpful” with the financial rescue groups, said David E. Brown, an Alston & Bird partner involved in its effort.
“And of course, Senator Daschle is national co-chair of the Obama campaign,” Mr. Brown added, noting that because Mr. Daschle is not a registered lobbyist, his involvement is limited to “high level advisory and strategic advice.”
Ambac Financial Group, in the relatively obscure bond insurance business, never needed lobbyists before, said Diana Adams, a managing director. But its clients persuaded the company to hire two Washington veterans — Edward Kutler and John T. O’Rourke — who helped arrange a recent meeting with Phillip L. Swagel, an assistant Treasury secretary. “We haven’t really asked for much in the past,” Ms. Adams said.
Initially, the banks reacted coolly to the prospect of the government taking direct stakes in them. They worried about restrictions on executive pay, and whether there would be a stigma attached. In conference calls with industry groups, Mr. Mason helped explain the Treasury proposal — a job he and his colleagues did well, judging by the change of heart among banks.
<span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 11pt">“The biggest surprise was how quickly it went from ‘I don’t need this,’ to ‘How do I get in?’ ” said Michele A. Davis, the head of public affairs at the Treasury, who is Mr. Mason’s boss.</span>
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Underscoring the many ways companies can take part in the rescue fund, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and other Hispanic business groups met with Mr. Paulson to push for minority contracts in asset management, legal, accounting, mortgage services and maintenance jobs, like plumbing and masonry.
“They are going to need a lot of folks in minority communities that are able to service their own communities,” said David Ferreira, head of government relations for the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
As the automakers have pushed for federal help, the trade groups for car dealerships and even boat dealerships are pressing their own cases. They argue that showrooms are feeling a squeeze between higher borrowing costs to finance their inventory and slowing consumer sales to move it out the door.
“We have been encouraged by reports that Secretary Paulson is looking to broaden the program,” said Mathew Dunn, head of government relations for the National Marine Manufacturers Association.
On Friday, the automobile dealers sent Mr. Paulson a letter urging him to keep them in mind.
“A well-capitalized, financially sound dealer network is essential to the success of every automobile manufacturer,” wrote Annette Sykora, a car dealer in Slaton, Tex., and the chairwoman of the National Automobile Dealers Association. “Any government intervention should include provisions to preserve the viability of dealers.”
Some lobbyists, Mr. Mason said, had called him even though they did not have any clients looking to get into the program or worried about its restrictions. They were merely seeking intelligence on which industries would be deemed eligible for assistance. He suspects they were representing hedge funds that wanted to trade on that information.
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Re: did i hear dat AMEX gwine to become a bank
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gen</div><div class="ubbcode-body">suh everybaddy a tun bank now
mi guh out pan mi main street and buck up one new bank
TD Bank, a canadian bank, nevah even know dem had branches here </div></div> now yuh find dem run an put yuh money in dehWhen its hot in the jungle of peace I go swimming in the ocean of love.....Comment
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Re: American Express to become a bank
I maintain that they shoudl not bail out any of the banks...what they shoudl be doing is sending regulators around to wrap up banks that are insolvent.
let the strong banks to absorb the assets of the insolvent ones and keep going.When its hot in the jungle of peace I go swimming in the ocean of love.....Comment
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Re: American Express to become a bank
<span style="font-size: 14pt">Bring Home the Bailout Bucks</span>
<span style="font-style: italic">Pub Date: Nov 10, 2008</span>
Got a pen? Taxpayers for Common Sense has obtained the application needed to get a piece of the bailout pie. We’re all for streamlining and paperwork reduction, but at only two pages long, it’s shorter than some credit card applications. And you could get up to $25 billion. Don’t worry about oversight. Since the Inspector General position for the bailout requires congressional confirmation, the spot hasn’t been filled. Nor has a joint House-Senate special oversight committee.
Don’t delay, applications are due by 5:00 pm on November 14, and there’s still $125 billion out there in the Treasury’s Capital Purchase Program for some lucky applicants.
Application:
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Auto-Makers Want a Piece of the Action Too
<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-size: 14pt">Is Detroit worth saving?</span></span>
The U.S. is gung-ho on rescuing the automakers. But the bailout better have major strings attached.
By Joseph Romm
Nov. 12, 2008 | Why bail out the car companies when they bailed out on us?
General Motors and Ford burned through a stunning $14.6 billion in cash last quarter. G.M.'s stock has sunk so low that you could buy the entire company for $2 billion. Bankruptcy seems all but inevitable.
In September, Congress authorized $25 billion to U.S. automakers to retool their factories to build fuel-efficient cars. But that money is slow in coming and <span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-size: 11pt">Detroit wants more, including some of the bucks from the $800 billion Wall Street bailout.</span></span> Last week, Barack Obama said he'd like to speed up the $25 billion and pursue additional policy options to help the car companies "weather the financial crisis and succeed in producing fuel-efficient cars here in the United States."
But remember, when you bail someone out of jail, there is no guarantee he won't jump bail, and even less of a guarantee he won't ultimately end up back in jail anyway. And when you bail out water from a leaky boat, everyone still sinks until you plug all of the leaks.
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Re: Auto-Makers Want a Piece of the Action Too
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BlackStar</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black'"><span style="font-size: 14pt">Is Detroit worth saving?</span></span>
The U.S. is gung-ho on rescuing the automakers. But the bailout better have major strings attached.
By Joseph Romm
Nov. 12, 2008 | Why bail out the car companies when they bailed out on us?</div></div>....No but put 3 million people out in the streets and see the result!Comment
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Re: Auto-Makers Want a Piece of the Action Too
well Palosi is di one spearheading the drive to bail dem out, so here we go again....
and even as AIG was asking fi anodda windfall, dem film dem at anodda high price retreat... dem been going on quite a few lately, despite dem claims of povertyComment
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Re: Auto-Makers Want a Piece of the Action Too
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: evanovitch</div><div class="ubbcode-body">well Palosi is di one spearheading the drive to bail dem out, so here we go again....
and even as AIG was asking fi anodda windfall, dem film dem at anodda high price retreat... dem been going on quite a few lately, despite dem claims of poverty </div></div>Both AIG and the Auto Industry presents a problem of size and scope, both are just to big with too many linkages to be allowed to fail.
Hopefully the net effect of any bailout will be more regulations.Comment
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Re: Auto-Makers Want a Piece of the Action Too
<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Quote:</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Hopefully the net effect of any bailout will be more regulations. </div></div>
doesn't look so since dem still going awn wid di ovaspending...fi real...is like dis country tun joke ....mi a live a yaad in two ways..same said sheggery in boat countriesComment
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Free money and bailouts for idiot businessmen
Make your voices heard. Write to your senators and reps about this bailout foolishness.
<span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-size: 8pt">I write to the congress people in my parents' district cause my parents won't do it themselves.</span> </span>
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