The unemployment rate for Genesee County is up more than a percentage point from this time last year, according to WBTA's Dan Fischer. The October jobless rate for the county was figured at 5.2 percent this year, as compared with 4.1 percent, last year. Those figures are released by the State Department of Labor, one of whose economists said that the last time the figures for the region were this high, the country was coming out of the recession of the early 1990s.
M&T Bank is on tap to receive $600 million from the federal government, in exchange for "preferred stock" that will go to the Treasury Department, as part of the nationwide "rescue plan."
(Update): The Buffalo News today includes a comprehensive article on M&T's option to join the "bailout." Especially interesting are these few lines:
M&T had been hesitant to sign on because executives feel the bank is perfectly healthy, hasn’t cut back on lending in its communities, and doesn’t need the extra capital. The bank currently has $6.4 billion in capital, giving it a “Tier 1” capital ratio of 7.34 percent, which exceeds the highest regulatory minimums.
That’s why the bank requested only the minimum of $600 million, as opposed to the maximum of about $1.73 billion that it could have sought, based on its asset size.
Come again? The bank is doing perfectly fine, doesn't need the money, but figured: 'Hey, what the heck, if they're giving it out, we might as well take some.'
Yikes.
Yikes.
Why sure! hand it out as
Why sure! hand it out as bonuses, so top Excs dont get depressed over the holidays.:(
I second that !
I second that !
Apparently, the reason
Apparently, the reason behind M&T's application for the funds is to demonstrate that they CAN get approval. It seems its a symbolic reassurance to shareholders and depositors that M&T is healthy enough that the government sees them as healthy enough. By all appearances, they don't need the money but need visible proof to avoid suspicions that they are in trouble. So, instead of being seen as strong and viable because they don't need the loan, they'd be seen as too weak to be worth the money. What an ass-backward attitude.
From TIME:
"M&T Bank and New York Community Bank have both made money in the past year and are probably examples of financial firms that may not need assistance from the government. Still, observers say the consensus among bank executives is that the TARP program is a good deal. So any firm that decides to opt out may raise concerns among investors and customers."
http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1858844,00.html