It appears that Citibank is going to need an influx of money from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Singapore. 12+ billion dollars worth of influx. Ouch. I have a Citibank card that I keep for month to month and online purchases. We also have a couple of other credit cards that have small balances on them (with no interest) that will be paid off soon, but not soon enough for me.
The housing market is really causing a lot of grief for banks. Countrywide is being bought out by Bank of America to bail them out of problems...mostly because of people defaulting on mortgages. We should have seen this coming. Low interest rates lured people into buying more home than they could afford and when those ARM's (Adjustable Rate Mortgages) matured and the real interest rates hit, people started defaulting. I am so glad that 1) I got a fixed rate mortgage (and refi'd when the rates dropped again) and 2) bought only the house size we needed. It may be small by most people's standards (1650 sq ft), but it is enough for two adults and 2 dogs.
I wonder how many more banks will need outside help before this is all over? And is it really good to have a financial institution partially owned by foreign investors?
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