Monday 8 September 2008

The Holders of F&F Prefs

The part of the Fannie and Freddie bailout that worries me is the prefs. From the FDIC:
The federal banking agencies have been assessing the exposures of banks and thrifts to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The agencies believe that, while many institutions hold common or preferred shares of these two government-sponsored enterprises, a limited number of smaller institutions have holdings that are significant compared to their capital.

The Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Office of Thrift Supervision are prepared to work with these institutions to develop capital-restoration plans pursuant to the capital regulations and the prompt corrective action provisions of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act.

All institutions are reminded that investments in preferred stock and common stock with readily determinable fair value should be reported as available-for-sale equity security holdings, and that any net unrealized losses on these securities are deducted from regulatory capital.
You've got a few hours before the US market opens. Can you figure out who has those holdings that are `significant compared to their capital' in time for the open?

Update The WSJ says F&F have $36B of prefs outstanding. That's a chunky loss for the financial system if they really do turn out to be worth basically nothing.

Labels: ,

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home