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Numerous European Banks And Re/Insurers Identified With Tens Of Billions In Greek Failed Repo Exposure
BNP, Commerzbank, HSBC, SocGen, Natixis, BNP, CA, AXA, ING and Rabobank all identified as banks with massive Greek repo exposure. The next question: will writedowns on these now illiquid and, as the Greek bond market is effectively shut down for a second day running, untradeable positions be taken, or will Europe follow the US in pretending tens of billions in valuation gaps will be filled by Hopium? Also, as bankingnews.gr reports, and as we first highlighted, a variety of French re/insurers are about to get whacked.
From Bankingnews.gr
At the
time of accepting the Greek toxic bonds repo agreements some banks such
as Commerzbank and HSBC had entered into repo with Greek banks from 1.5
to 2 billion each.
These banks have sought various ways to get rid of the Greek bonds, but the repo does not break easily.
From foreign banks big exposure to toxic
Greek bonds - say toxic as these CDS spread and toxic only be described
- are BNP Paribas 5 billion multi-repo in Greek banks.
The Commerzbank 3.1 billion in repo to a large Greek bank.
The HSBC 2 billion in bonds through repo Greek by a Greek major bank.
The Societe Generale 3 billion
The Natixis to 830 million.
The BNP Paribas said it would retain the Greek bonds
over the next 2-3 years (5 billion) and borrowings of Greek (3 billion
euros)
The Credit Agricole 500 mn euros Zurich Finance 400 mn dollars, AXA 500 mn euros.
The French banks and insurance companies have the greatest exposure to toxic Greek bonds.
Positive support of the Greek debt and Dutch banks hold funds with 12 billion. The Greek bond ING holds 3 billion and Rabobank 300 million.
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And at 8:00 EDT, down goes gold on the Crimex.
Practically every day, same script.
No, there's no manipulation here. Move along. Nothing to see.
yes, but so unsuccessfully.
Time and tide - I set my watch by it.
Au at ~1180 with the DXY at roughly 84.5 is pretty sweet, though.
It also keeps bouncing back up after it gets put down. I know I am anthropomorphizing, but I swear, those charts look like a battle field to me. Patience. The market knows the truth, the herd is getting spooked. We are drifting in a much higher range than we were just a few weeks ago. I am braced for bigger moves, I suspect it will try to throw us off before it is all over. I am a strong hand. Are you? The more of us that do this, the sooner we bring down the house of the USD hegemony.
The Dollar must die. The SDR must not be allowed to replace it. One thing at a time. First, the Euro dies.
Ms,
You got game, this time, Homey's not playin dat game......This is the time WE hold em', not fold em'........time ( long wait), to finally cash in.
+1,180
As long as you don't try to anthropomorphize Tim Geitner. That would just be crazy.
As usual, its worse than publicized: Financial Contagion vs. Economic Contagion: Does the Market Underestimate the Effects of the Latter?
The banks' financial contagion easily causes economic contagion - wash, rinse, repeat! The revolution will be televised this time around, via youtube and over blogs...
This is just a sampling of
individual banks whose assets dwarf the GDP of the nations in which
they’re domiciled. To make matters even worse, leverage is rampant in
Europe, even after the debacle which we are trying to get through has
shown the risks of such an approach. A sudden deleveraging can wreak
havoc upon these economies. Keep in mind that on an aggregate basis,
these banks are even more of a force to be reckoned with.
Nice reference to Gil Scott Heron, Reggie. Yes, indeed, the revolution will be televised.
Reggie,
I read through your link. It's good stuff.
In it you write- "Countries in this region (Baltics, eastern Europe) are
highly dependent on foreign trade, with exports accounting for more than
50% of GDP for many countries. Sharp declines in exports have triggered
a series of internal predicaments including rampant and rising
unemployment as well as declines in domestic demand that exacerbate
trade account imbalances through declines in imports."
Wouldn't a decline in imports be a good thing for those countries? Further, if their exports are declining wouldn't the trade account imbalance improve with a decline in imports?
Declining imports are OK--unless you're importing bread and you'd like to keep eating.
I can comment briefly on Latvia, being one of those Latvian types. The cost of production for a litre of milk was around 50 santimes (about 67 cents US). But their competition from other EU member countries (with farm subsidies) was about 30 santimes a litre. So they're importing milk. Then this crisis comes. OK, now you get austerity measures so there's less money available to spend, and maybe the imports slow down. Hmm, is that local guy with the cows still around? Hopefully he didn't sell Minnie to the butcher to make up the shortfall on his income.
Personally, I think joining the EU (and NATO) was a bad idea. But I can understand the great aversion we have historically had to the longterm Russian oppression. However, it appears that the friendly chap (western bankers) who offered us a lift after we escaped the mugger (Russia) has turned out to be a sadistic rapist.
Thank you for the different perspective. It's certainly food for thought- meaning no disrespect to any hungry Latvians.
I sit here in the good old USofA and think- well, if the shit hits the fan we can feed ourselves, use our own petroleum reserves and probably get by with rationing.
But Latvia is probably going to have to go back to horsepower.
Don't kill the cows either.
@Reggie: Gruebel claims that UBS has no significant exposure to Greek sovereign debt. Where do you come up with your figures?
Trichet says - economy brosdly balanced . There will be growth in the spring .
Trichet is Pinocchio.
How can there be growth in the Spring when the Euro continent shut down for the volcano in Iceland and Euro economists are sying that it will cost the national airline $2 billion and the tourism industry, as well?!?
In fact, the volcano is still limiting air travel to and from Scotland and Ireland. Last time I looked, they were part of the European Union.
* I'll just have to keep checking more frequently now, because the European Union may start losing deadbeats.
Hopium, that's how!
Hopium and Opium, the queen pushes both.
This is spring!
Did he say Spring of which year?
I repeat, all of this funny business in the markets should drive thoughtful investors to disintermediation:
1. In finance, withdrawal of funds from intermediary financial institutions, such as banks and savings and loan associations, in order to invest them directly.
2. Generally, removing the middleman or intermediary.
Of course, disintermediation is bad for governments selling debt and all financial firms, but often very good for small businesses needing capital. I am suprised to not read more about disintermediation here, and on similiar blogs, apart from advice to buy gold and take posession. Micro lending in your own community, angel investing, and even certain types of municipal debt offerings are good topics for consideration.
Disintermediation, bitches!!!!!
How can you implement it in your portfolio, business, and life?
you are 1000% correct. The only safe way to invest now is in precious metals and local business that you can trust/oversee. Agents have been exposed as frauds.
+100
I'm there and getting pissed off that the opportunity to buy property has been restricted to TBTF financial institutions. My role/opportunity as vulture has been given to friends and family of Washington and Wall Street. And ... they're pissing (my) taxpayer money away to fund their ponzi, too?
Dad gum right I'm mad.
Landlord/landlady + tenant - real estate agent = disintermediation
That's me -- but ... under the circumstances I require a 10% cap rate. Big financial institutions who bought at 20 cents on the dollar and w/ zero interest rate nonrecourse govt loans won't accept 40-50 percent offers?
screw them and the horse that brought'em
Very good point. Deserves its own top piece on ZH. ZH's thesis is the system is corrupt and controlled by a small number of people/institutions. So how do we uncorrupt it?
If history has anything to say about it, you don't. You simply replace the cast of characters being corrupted.
Shrink the cast of characters. No more five minutes of scrolling credits with Barney Frank and his 13 "best boys." Just the borrower and the lender, or the entrepreneur and the investor, all shot on location in your home town.
HaHAha! I just choked on my own spit.
WE INVADE DC
can I volunteer for the squad. I'll supply my own semi-PMs.
In continuing with the cast of characters theme from the above post, shot on location as in filmed on location, not ventilated with high velocity lead. LOL.
"Shit puppets!" - Jim Lahey
Looking at a local cash flow rich chicken sandwich shack with nice margins, low overhead, within 10 miles, and the chicken farmer within 50. Know their first names too. How's that?
Nice. Sounds like you'll soon be up to your eyebrows in profitable chicken shit. :>)
I know the mayor, but not the Sheriff. Since he has a gun, that's a better idea. I will marry the other chicken farmer's daughter to play it safe. ;)
Boom!
Hopium ? (LOL)
Hopium is that wonderful combination of the most powerful narcotic in the world (hope) with one of the most powerful natural narcotics in the world, opium. Priceless, in so many ways.
I don't care how many times I see that (made up) word, it brings a smile to my face. It's the functional equivalent of "a picture is worth a thousand words". Now if Tyler would just just add it to the ZH text editor spell checker, life would be perfect.
I've got bearium! Bearium is the wonderful combination of the most powerful awareness (awake, alert) with one of the most powerful information sources in the world, Zero Hedge.
Chumba smokes gold.
Maui gold?
Hey, didn't that 0-bama guy run his campaign on Hope?
"Hope" you were gullible enough to believe in "Change you can believe in". "Hope" that the two party system isn't corrupt. "Hope" that there is still the rule of law in America. And so on.
I understand there are many jilted Obama supporters as well as many who still believe their man has not been given a chance. For many, it's extremely difficult to accept that things are not as they seem or that you have allowed yourself to believe in a false premise. No one, including me, likes to believe we've had the wool pulled over our eyes. The blow to the ego stings a great deal.
You are not "allowed" to become POTUS without accepting that you will be allowed limited power in exchange for the illusion that you are the most powerful person on earth. For a Presidential candidate, this drug might just be even stronger than hopium.
Yeah, but we find we're left with:
Cope, Dope, Nope or [get the] Rope
The Greek protesters are "negotiating". They have outsized power, at this moment, through Europe. This is the first real battle. Very very curious how this plays out
One thing you need to know about Greek protesters, they are for the most part organized by the Greek Communist Party and the Unions they control or have pull in.
One thing you need to know about the GCP, they can be rented for a price. Need a bunch of people to show up and make a stink for whatever economic or political purpose you have? Give the GCP a call.
The protesters aren't negotiating anything, its the guys that wrote the GCP a check,
even check writers who have swaps against French banks or creditor leveraged sovereigns, like we saw yesterday. It could be anything in today's casino of inverted motives. But, if the Greeks really feel it and sustain, it might get them a better restructuring. I can see it. I can't see anything else actually. But, the global lenders know this is their first big fight on the global stage. You know they don't want to give ideas, especially to smaller sovereigns, this early.
"But, the global lenders know this is their first big fight on the global stage. You know they don't want to give [any] ideas, especially to smaller sovereigns, this early."
This is the underlying theme isn't it? The banksters need to keep the Ponzi rolling, to recapitalize each sovereign as they falter in order to continue their looting. So there must be incredible pressure on all parties at this moment. I wonder how many "players" got a good night sleep last night. I suspect there was a great deal of phone tag going on last night in preparation for the Greek vote today, the German vote tomorrow as well as the UK and German elections.
Very interesting.
just to clarify, these are existing repos for Greek bonds which the banks now have to buy back at the agreed price? So basically the banks are underwater on the deal right?
The bankers have been sitting around for two years and I think it's finally hitting them. The economy isn't magically growing. Crossing finger didn't work. Neither did the roundtables. Shit is catching fire. They're going to have to take a big loss soon just to avoid taking another bigger loss on the central bank FASB scam.
Those poor banks! Something must be done! German and usa citizen-taxpayers should send aid immediately. [/sarcasm]
I am sure your (sarcasm remark), was from the fact that America is already paying, you and I.............
As you know we are on the IMF hook of 17% of the Funding of same....
FRE nonchalantly slipped us a bill for another $11B yesterday.
Total government takeover and elimination of debt....
Coming to America soon! :)
www.theonion.com/video/us-government-stages-fake-coup-to-wipe-out-nationa,14356/
+1
love The Onion
In a strange way the whole 'Fight Club' theme is coming full circle. Wasn't the plan of Project Mayhem to bring all debt tracking down to zero?
From the Fight Club script near the very end of the movie:
It's getting exciting now....
Think of everything we've accomplished.
Out these windows, we will view the collapse of financial history.
One step closer to economic equilibrium.
That is right on the money. We have been told we are everything, and now we are finding out that we aren't. Everyones potential have been used to keep the top 1 or 2 percent in power and in wealth while they dropped us some crumbs. With all that potential we could have had moon colonies by now, or better propulsion systems for interplanetary travel or research that isn't classified from the world, etc. etc.. It was all done in order to keep those people in power and in wealth.
One big margin call, Euros, stocks are liquidated for US Dollars. Anyone levareged is
toast.
Wow...
Geithner is free to print another trillion....
Everyone is clamoring for our debt and our currency.
Dear Timmy: Yield not to temptation.
May 11th (5 days away), the IMF convened meeting in Zurich to discuss gold and the SDR as counters to the dollar per Jim Rickards. This may move currency markets, not to mention PMs if something material comes out.
http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/05/jim-rickards-gold-silve...
"This may move currency markets, not to mention PMs if something material comes out."
How bad will we get screwed?,coming & going, on BOTH.
And how much gold does the IMF have to have a "backed up" currency?
I'd bet heavily that they'll take the hopium.
Its a defacto devaluation of the Euro. Surprise!
I am beginning to get the feeling that the $2 trillion, that Bernanke refuses to disclose who he gave it to, has not been given to anyone yet and is being held off the Fed's books knowing that it will be needed in 2010 to save Europe.
But there's a ring fence around US banks right? I mean, this won't affect Citi or BOA or JP, right? I mean, they have nothing to do with Europe or European banks, right?
Exactly. Thats why they've been doing so well lately. Their portfolios full of pristine mortgage debt, coupled with zero exposure to those nasty European reprobates ensures that their solid as rock, ready to play their vital role in the American recovery.
The USDCHF pair is now about 1.1035 so as the Euro has been getting beaten down, the USD is strengthening against other, what many perceive as, strong currencies due to it's "safety".
Thoughts on a USDCHF short position given a potential overreaction of the USD move against the CHF???
I never trade CHF these days.
My understanding is the Swiss National bank intervene irregularly to weaken CHF, against EUR mostly. Unless you think the SNB will get fed up of buying EUR, its a dangerous game.
Anyone else? Is this a fair description of what is going on? Its not my main interest, so comments appreciated
Could be part of the risk off over there. It also looks like a technical rebound off 1.1175/89.50. SNB has been buying Gold and USD during this move since they own so much Euro. With no QE action from ECB today, I'd support the safety explanation for now. However, it may not last. I'd probably short it up around 1.0913/91.63.
G-Pap confirmed that Greek Gvnt hired Lazard in Parliament.
Samaras, leader of the opposition vanished G-Pap. Asked FinMin to resign due to Lazard.
Major political defeat of G-Papandreou in Parliament today. He lost his temper and out of control said things that happened under the table.
Pasok is afraid of the dirt the IMF deal carries. Tries to spead the blame but he can't.
G-Pap is supported ONLY by national-socialist party LAOS.
Now that the rats are running for cover, we will glimpse the truth.
At least he did not speak about Global Goverment as he use to do.
Being fully aware of my responsibility as a representative of the citizens of Athens to the Greek Parliament, aware of the plight in which the country is, aware of the difficult struggle that daily gives the President and the PASOK government, I express by my vote that I am outraged that the upcoming measures imposed by mechanisms that actively participated in the cleavage of the Greek economy or tacitly tolerated speculative games at the expense of our country, asked today the Greek people to accept the transformation of Greece into a Third World country . They call for the abolition of basic labor rights, the decline in living standards of people and destroying the middle class. I declare that I will remain a representative of the people of Athens to Parliament, will continue to support each position and a law the government will contribute to the redistribution of income, ensuring the rule of law, to restore social justice and the search for a new model of economic development that respects and serves the people first and then numbers, ie all those pre-election PASOK had committed to implement. (accused Gvnt for lies)