Bad quarter for banks...but just how bad?
Call it the case of same story, different quarter for the nation's banks.

Georgia banks' problems 'alarming,' data show
More Georgia banks faced deeper problems from souring loans and other challenges in the third quarter, based on a commonly used measure of their financial health. The number of banks with high "Texas ratios" ? a figure that attempts to gauge how likely institutions are to face insolvency ? grew during the quarter ended in September. Most banks' ratios also got worse. "The third quarter was ...

6 Illinois banks, thrifts undercapitalized
Six Illinois banks and thrifts are among 47 institutions nationwide with leverage ratios of less than 5 percent, according to a new study.

Investment Banks Seek Supertankers for Contango Trade (Update1)
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Investment banks want to hire supertankers to store crude oil at sea, seeking to profit as futures contracts get more expensive later in the year, according to Frontline Ltd., the largest owner of the ships.

An open door for banks on leasing?
Banks hope to break into the auto leasing business

Flaherty Says Canadian Banks Should Help Fill Gaps in Credit
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said the country?s banks should help try to fill ?gaps? in access to credit for consumers and businesses.

Banks hold back on passing on reduction
Savers were left in the dark yesterday after interest rates were cut to record lows. While banks and building societies raced to be the first to announce mortgage cuts, their savers, who vastly outnumber borrowers, were given scant information about where rates are heading. Spanish-owned bank Abbey limited itself to a brief "savings rates are also under review" statement, but even that was ...

Are banks cutting lending?
TO expect the banks not to take a closer look at their loan books and fresh loan applications is not to be realistic in the current circumstances where gloom and pessimism overshadows confidence and optimism.

An open door for banks on leasing?
Canada's banks have been trying for decades to break into the auto leasing business, now Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is considering opening the door to make it happen as part of his government's stimulus plan.

Banks borrow more, investment firms less from Fed
WASHINGTON -- Commercial banks borrowed more, while investment firms drew less over the past week from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program.

Federal Reserve Banks Report 2008 Net Income Of $38.8 Billion
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Despite the economic woes that have battered much of the world's finances, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in a preliminary estimate Friday that net income at its 12 regional banks grew slightly to $38.8 billion last year.

Banks uneasy over staff lay-off
DOHA: Banks here remain liquid and face no immediate threat from the global financial crisis, but reports of staff lay-offs have them increasingly worried since many of those being retrenched have to pay back personal loans.

Banks, builders differ on need for more lending
Builders say things could get moving again if banks would start lending. Banks say they are lending to people who can repay the loans.

Analyst: Treasury not tracking how banks use bailout
WASHINGTON ? The head of a congressional panel overseeing the $700 billion bailout program said today that lawmakers need to "take a very hard look" at how banks have used the money.

China busts 40 illegal banks in 5 months
Chinese authorities busted more than 40 major illegal private banks from July to November this year, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said in Beijing Friday.

Abu Dhabi Banks to Emulate ?National Leaders Model? to Tap Global Markets
ABU DHABI - The decision of the Abu Dhabi Government to encourage the banks in the emirate to tap the opportunities in the regional and global markets, is being perceived by experts as an emulation of the strategy being followed by the ?national leaders? in other sectors.

Banks keep their distance; NBFCs get Rs 25k cr more
To arrest the slowdown in commercial vehicle sales, the government on Friday cajoled public sector banks to provide a special line of credit to the non-banking finance companies, though bankers were not too enthused by the idea.

UPDATE 1-M.Stanley ups Q4, 2009 loss view for mid-sized US banks
Jan 9 (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley increased its fourth-quarter and 2009 cumulative loss estimate for U.S. mid-sized banks on higher credit losses and said several banks will be unprofitable in 2009.

Hong Kong Stocks Climb; Banks Lead Advance, Developers Climb
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong stocks rose for the first time in four days, led by banks after HSBC Holdings Plc said it has no plan to sell shares in Bank of Communications Ltd.

China Said to Let Foreign Banks Trade Corporate Bonds (Update1)
Jan. 9 (Bloomberg) -- China will allow foreign banks to trade corporate bonds in the interbank market for the first time, fulfilling a pledge made during talks with the U.S. in December, two people familiar with the matter said.