bank run blog

While we are likely to never know what happened to all of the tax dollars that have been and will be TARPed away by the private owners of financial institutions that have received handouts in the past months, limited government reporting reveals the gallery of deadbeats and which private companies are getting the largest portion of federal government support to be able to claim (with no intended irony) that they are private companies operating in the beautiful and almighty free market.

Here is a report form the Treasury Department that provides a smidgen of detail regarding the use of your tax dollars, particularly interesting is the Transaction Report : Capital Purchase Program on page 8, and the TARP Administrative Expenses report ($26.5 million projected expenses). This report covers only December 2008.

Here is a listing provided by the New York Times (via Bloomberg) that gives the astronomical broad numbers per institution, which was published January 28.

The bedrock asset of most Americans, their home, is declining in value at a record rate. CNN reports;

“The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that home prices fell a record 1.8% for the month, compared with October, declining at an annualized rate of nearly 20%. That follows losses of 1.2% and 1.1% in the two previous months. For the 12 months ended November 30, prices fell 8.7%, which was the largest 12-month price drop ever for the 17-year-old index.”

Reductions in home value were even greater in certain regions, CNN wrtes;

“According to FHFA, the Great Plains and prairie states of North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Missouri and Minnesota were the worst-hit U.S. regions in November. Prices there dropped a whopping 2.7%.”

The FHFA index tracks the purchase price of homes bought with loans of $417,000 or less that are sold to or guaranteed by the federally controlled mortgage firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

see story-
CNN Money : Home prices see sharp dip

With 500,000 people losing their jobs weekly across America, states are quickly using up monies set aside for unemployment insurance and antiquated systems not designed for the deluge in claims are collapsing under the weight of millions of new claims.

In these segments, CBS News focuses on the problems states are experiencing trying to respond to the scores of newly jobless citizens who are filing claims for unemployment insurance.

“New York’s unemployment insurance system went insolvent about 2 hours into 2009.” – Patricia Smith, New York Labor Department Commissioner

“This type of unemployment crisis- about a year later you’ll see a spike in welfare cases.” – Patricia Smith, New York Labor Department Commissioner

“It takes on average 20 calls to get through to an operator (at the California Unemployment Office). The state is getting swamped by 2.5 million call attempts a day.” – Sarah Hughes, CBS News

“The system is so strained some state’s unemployment funds are going broke. Seven state are now borrowing from the federal government to pay benefits.” - Sarah Hughes, CBS News

Americans are making the move from retail to resale as the economy continues to wither. The Orange County Register writes;

“As some of the nation’s major retail centers have been advertising big discounts to stay in business, thrift store sales have gone up – serving as a major relief for families who have been hit by the economic crisis.”

A recent study found that customers who would have never considered shopping in thrift stores are now becoming resale store patrons. CNN writes;

“Sales are flourishing at secondhand shops as a new echelon of shoppers finds its way into resale stores. Of the store owners who responded to a recent survey from the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops (NARTs), 74% said that September and October sales increased over the prior year, by an average of 35%. Goodwill Industries, a nonprofit that operates 2,200 thrift stories, says that same-store revenue have increased by an average of 7% compared to last year. The Salvation Army, with 1,370 nonprofit secondhand shops nationwide, also reports significant gains.

“We’re up about 20 to 25% over last year,” says Major George Hood, the national community relations secretary for the Salvation Army.”

see stories-
CNN News : Secondhand stores shine in weak retail market
KORE TV News : Bad Economy Good News For Thrift Stores
Orange County Register : O.C. thrift store sales are up in down economy

The FDIC has announced the failure of Ocala National Bank, of Ocala, Florida. The federal agency has arranged a sale of the failed bank’s assets and deposits to CenterState Bank of Florida, Winter Haven, Florida.

Ocala National Bank is the sixth bank to fail in the nation this year. The most recent bank failure in Florida was Freedom Bank, Bradenton, on October 31, 2008. From the official press release :

“Ocala National Bank, Ocala, Florida, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was named receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with CenterState Bank of Florida, Winter Haven, Florida, to assume all of the deposits of the Ocala National Bank.

The four locations of Ocala National will reopen on Monday, February 2, 2009, as branches of CenterState. Depositors of the failed bank will automatically become depositors of CenterState Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship to retain their deposit insurance coverage.”

see resources–

FDIC failed bank information page : CenterState Bank Acquires All the Deposits of Ocala National Bank, Ocala, Florida

Gainesville Sun : Ocala bank among three closed nationwide