Earlier today, we wondered if, in light of the news that Vikram Pandit had resigned as CEO of Citigroup, analyst Meredith Whitney’s opinion of the bank had changed. Choice comments that Whitney has made about the Big C in the past have included: “Citigroup is in such a mess Stephen Hawking couldn’t turn this company around“; “Citi is like an old broken-down Victorian house“; and Citi “has no earnings power, isn’t going to grow, hasn’t been investable in four years.” She also once told Maria Bartiromo that the only way she’d change her mind about company would be if she received “a new brain.” Still, sometimes analysts change their tune when new blood is brought in and, like former FDIC chair Sheila Bair, perhaps some of her beef with the bank had been a personal dislike of Uncle V. Now that he’s gone, is she seeing Citigroup in a new light? Read more »
MEREDITH WHITNEY
-
Posted in:
advice
Meredith Whitney Suggests Out Of Work Financial Services Employees Stop Thinking ‘How Many People Will Be Working Under Me?’ And Start Thinking ‘Do You Want That Collated And Bound, Sir?’
By Bess Levin
“The problem to date has been that those that have been laid off have been sitting on their couches because they do not want to take a downgrade in pay. They are not going back to work and the longer you are out of work, the more difficult it is to get a new job. My advice to them is take what you can get. It is very hard to transfer skills from a high-paying job…so recalibrate your expectations.” [BloombergTV]
The way Whitney sees it, some kind of sugar daddy or “rich uncle” setup is Morgan Stanley’s only hope for survival going forward. Read more »
Meredith Whitney is a banking analyst made famous by downgrading Citigroup in late October 2007, saying that the bank was facing a $30 billion capital shortfall and later telling the press “Citigroup is in such a mess Stephen Hawking couldn’t turn this company around.” In the years since she’s had less than flattering things to say about the firm and as recently as March 14, 2012, told CNBC that Citi “has no earnings power, isn’t going to grow, hasn’t been investable in four years” and “is like an old broken-down Victorian house.” (In the same interview, she told Maria Bartiromo that the only way she’d change her mind about the big C would be if she received “a new brain.”) So it probably surprised a few people when, earlier this month, she upgraded the bank. But please, do not get the mistaken impression that she’s suddenly in love with the place or has developed any feelings for it whatsoever. Fact of the matter is, the mere thought of the place still sickens her. Read more »
Meredith Whitney Knows This BAC Situation Might Hurt But ‘Hold On’ And Let The Pain Wash Over You
By Bess LevinChief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan is “the right guy for the job,” said Whitney, 41, who started New York-based Meredith Whitney Advisory Group LLC in 2009. Bank of America, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, probably won’t need to raise capital in the public markets, and shareholders should “hold on,” Whitney said. Bank of America has lost more than half its value on the New York Stock Exchange this year. Moynihan, 51, has said repeatedly that the company won’t need to issue shares to comply with new international capital standards. Bank of America has sold more than 20 assets or units since Moynihan took over last year. “They’re biting into the marrow of the institution to raise capital,” Whitney said. “They’re selling some crown jewels.” [Bloomberg]
When Ruth Rooney bought a home in Vallejo, California in 2005, Bloomberg reports, “there were few vacancies and the historic Hill neighborhood attracted young professionals.” Then the city lost the US Navy’s Mare Island shipyard, it’s largest employer and filed for bankruptcy and now? Rooney’s property value has “dropped 70 percent in six years” and Vallejo attracts a different type of “professional” to the area. One that can do a “job” out of your car or anywhere it’s convenient to drop trou. Read more »
[via BI]
Listen up, people. From time to time around these parts we like to offer you How To Guides, to getting your shit done. Most recently we laid out the steps necessary to getting any bonus you want. Those who followed the instructions were more than pleased with their numbers come D-Day. Those who did not were laughed out of the room. Today’s How To is a bit more next level. On the surface it’s about how to run bank/hedge fund/private equity firm/financial institution of your choosing. But as literally anyone can do that, we’re not going to waste our time. Instead, we’ll be showing you how to take a failing bank/hedge fund/private equity firm/financial institution of your choosing and turn that shit around. It’s the difference between not having anyone to answer to when you decide to put a bronze casting of your balls in the lobby and have a giant-sized rendering of said balls replace those of the bull on Wall Street. This is an organic conversation in which you should feel free to toss ideas of your own but to get things started we’re going to offer a bunch of tips we’ve picked up in conversations with seasoned vets. Such as:
1. How to handle the succession plan with the current (and outgoing CEO): As you may or may not even be employed by the firm you’re about to take over, the fact that you’re naming yourself head honcho may come as a shock. Deal with it thusly: walk into his office, inform him you’ve acquired 51% of the company and that as such, “I’m fucking in, and you’re fucking out. Now get the fuck out of my chair.” Read more »
New Jersey’s move to take out a short-term $2.25 billion loan to pay its bills is symbolic of how difficult state and municipal financing will be in the year ahead, analyst Meredith Whitney told CNBC Tuesday…she said these types of moves will be mere warning shots as states approve their spending plans for the fiscal year ahead—running from July 1 to June 30—and balance those budgets by cutting local aid. “That’s what’s really going to hurt. So the pain of the states is just upon us,” said Whitney. “What you’ll see now is as the states are submitting final budgets, you’ll see the real pain at the municipal level start happening July 1. That will intensify and that’s where you’ll see the fallout.”"That’s what’s really going to hurt. So the pain of the states is just upon us,” said Whitney. “What you’ll see now is as the states are submitting final budgets, you’ll see the real pain at the municipal level start happening July 1. That will intensify and that’s where you’ll see the fallout.” [CNBC]
She told clients in London. She also typed up a note. She even emailed it to herself. But she didn’t send it to anyone else, because after seeing how she’d moved markets with her Citi call and the magnificence of her influence, the idea of being responsible for putting Bear out of business made her hesitate. Read more »
MDubs has issued a new state budget and debt report and Arizona, Nevada, Connecticut, Wisconsin? Might want to run. (Also, re last year’s prediction on muni bond defaults- she was just ball-parking, no one should’ve taken those numbers at face value.) Read more »
- Use the Bloomberg command
NH BLG_DEALBREAKER <GO>
to access Dealbreaker
