And You Thought They Were Smart

Our Jolly Bankers in action. How to be a moron and make millions. Bloomberg (04.13.08):

"Citigroup Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. will reveal at least $15 billion more of subprime mortgage writedowns this week, the Sunday Times of London reported, citing analysts it didn't identify.

Citigroup will have $10 billion of writedowns, taking its first-quarter loss to about $3 billion, the newspaper said."

Citigroup, Merrill May Post $15 Billion Writedowns, Times Says

"Some analysts say the Citigroup writedowns may stretch to $12 billion, it said. Merrill may have a $5 billion writedown, taking it to a $2.7 billion loss, the report said."

The solution? Stick it to your best customers. NYTimes (04.13.08), via BigPicture:

"It was the nation’s lending institutions and mortgage originators that got us into this credit mess, but it is consumers, taxpayers and those companies’ shareholders who will end up shouldering most of the costs.

The latest example of this is in the mass freezing of home equity lines of credit going on across the country."

You Thought You Had an Equity Line

"Reeling from losses on their wretched loan decisions of recent years, lenders are preventing borrowers with pristine credit and significant equity in their homes from tapping into credit lines that they paid dearly to secure."

How do these guys find their way home at night?