RSS feedIKB
’[Abacus] Tail risk in the Rhineland
IKB, the bailed-out German bank, has been thrust ignominiously into headlines once again.
IKB was one of the investors in Goldman Sachs’ now-infamous Abacus CDO, which lies at the heart of an SEC law suit against the American bank.
[Abacus] Der Abakus
Alternate title: How Mitteleuropa led to the creation of the Abacus CDOs.
The German bank IKB, together with ACA, was one of the investors in Abacus 2007-ACI, the subprime-referencing synthetic CDO at the heart of the SEC’s civil fraud suit against Goldman Sachs.
[Abacus] Fisking Goldman’s latest rebuttal
Goldman doth protest too much, we think, in the statement it issued on Sunday on the SEC’s complaint against it and its trader Fabrice Tourre. We note that Goldman is already on its third rebuttal since Friday.
[Abacus] Paulson: ‘It’s our money now’
Well, in so many words…
If ABACUS 2007-AC1 is proved to be a fraud on Germany’s IKB and Britain’s RBS (née ABN Amro), then John Paulson’s hedge fund will be braced for compensatory claims.
Here’s the Paulson &
IKB probe victory for shareholders
Minority shareholders in IKB have scored a legal victory in their fight for an investigation into the German bank, which was one of the first casualties of the financial crisis. A court on Wednesday ordered the appointment of a special auditor to examine whether IKB’s executive or supervisory boards violated their duty at the bank,
Ex-IKB chief faces charges
Germany could soon see its first trial related to the financial crisis, after prosecutors charged Stefan Ortseifen, the former chief executive of stricken lender IKB. Prosecutors in Düsseldorf said they had charged Ortseifen – who led the mid-sized corporate lender until its near-collapse in the summer of 2007 – with manipulating the share price and breach of trust.
Don’t forget to worry about the German banks
In the very early days of the crisis – circa August 2007 – Germany’s Landesbanken were daily in the headlines in the financial press. But as the meltdown of the global financial world continued apace, attention shifted from the subprime IKB,
Lone Star rides in to rescue IKB
Germany drew a line under one of its biggest banking crises on Thursday as it revealed a deal to sell IKB, the lender stricken by subprime investments, to a US investment group. Lone Star is acquiring more than 90% of IKB from KfW,
KfW board agrees on IKB stake
The executive committee of state-owned KfW Bankengruppe’s supervisory board has reached an agreement regarding its stake in subprime casualty IKB, German finance minister Peer Steinbrueck said, reports the WSJ.
KfW head quits over IKB crisis
The crisis at IKB, the German bank crippled by its subprime investments, claimed one of its biggest casualties on Monday with the resignation of the chief executive of the bank’s largest financial backer.
FGIC sues IKB over $1.9bn liabilities
The fallout from the credit crisis spread Monday when Financial Guaranty Insurance Company, the US bond insurer, filed a lawsuit accusing IKB, the German bank, and its affiliates of a fraud that left it exposed to potential liabilities of $1.9bn.
Let it fail, Mitteleuropa edition
If you thought the UK taxpayer had it bad with Northern Rock, spare a thought for the poor Bürger of Nordrhein-Westfalen.
Düsseldorf-based IKB is a bank in trouble. Not on paper, but in real terms.
Bail-out time again for Germany’s IKB
The latest bailout of German bank IKB is due to be decided on Wednesday, with shareholders meeting to discuss a government-backed rescue plan. Over recent days the Dusseldorf-based lender has discovered fresh subprime losses of up to €2bn,
Trading inquiry could disrupt IKB sale
IKB, one of the first victims of the global credit squeeze, has been hit by an investigation by state prosecutors of present and former executives. The inquiry could complicate the sale of the troubled lender.
More trouble ahead for German Landesbanken
Germany’s banks are in a mess. Two of the smaller Landesbanks, SachsenLB and IKB, were the first casualties of the credit crunch – imploding as they did way back in August.
Focus shifted when things started to go awry elsewhere in the world.
Germany’s KfW doubles cover for IKB
KfW on Tuesday nearly doubled the amount it is setting aside to cover potential losses at German lender IKB to almost €5bn ($7.41bn) as it warned of a “dramatic” worsening of conditions in the US subprime mortgage market.
‘No risk’ of fire sale at Rhinebridge
Rhinebridge will not be forced into a fire sale of its $2bn or so of assets after stopping repayments of its commercial paper, according to receivers appointed on Tuesday to the three-month old SIV. Rhinebridge was a sister to the Rhineland conduit used to fund German bank IKB until its inability to raise short-term debt forced other German banks to organise a rescue.
Citi keeps lending: $500m to IKB
Citigroup, prime mover behind Wall Street’s master conduit scheme, may be facing trouble, and big declines in earnings, but it’s still lending. The bank has just leoaned about $500m to a structured investment vehicle run by IKB,
KfW to sell 37 per cent stake in IKB
Germany’s state-owned KfW bank has appointed Merrill Lynch to look “closely at the option of selling” its 37.8 per cent stake in IKB, the troubled German lender hit by the subprime crisis. IKB issued a shock profit warning in July stemming from huge undisclosed exposures to the US subprime mortgage market.
IKB sees near-$1bn loss for 2007
German bank IKB, which nearly went bust after subprime mortgage investments turned sour, has changed its strategy and expects a net loss of close to $1bn in the fiscal year to end-March, reports Reuters.
Credit’s latest ominous acronyms: SIVs and ABCP
Policymakers and investors have been obsessed in recent years about the potential for a hedge fund collapse to spread financial panic.
But it seems one of the biggest threats to stability stems from the age-old risk of short-term borrowing to fund investments in illiquid long-term products,
FT editorial: Market chaos – the real problem and some real answers
Thursday’s spike in the cost of borrowing euros, dollars or sterling overnight takes the current round of credit turmoil into a new phase, says the FT in a Friday editorial comment: “There is now the risk of a real financial crisis,
Sashimi and ‘houga-cho’ for two? German banks go all Japanese
Germany, it seems, is officially out to lunch. And it’s ordering sushi.
There’s been an outbreak of deja vu sparked by events in and around the US subprime mortgage market.
Bear Stearn’s initial response in June to its ailing hedge funds reminded Justin Lahart of the WSJ of Japan’s response to its “zombie companies”
WestLB Mellon venture freezes assets
A second German asset manager was forced on Tuesday to temporarily freeze the assets in its fund after the fund’s value declined sharply on the back of credit market weakness. WestLB Mellon Asset Management,
Tett: IKB and the unlikely casualties of subprime
How do you say “yikes” in German, wonders the FT’s Gillian Tett?
OK, we know the specialised German lender had problems. But on Thursday, it emerged that IKB’s exposure to the subprime sector had somehow ballooned to €17bn — many times the total market capitalisation of the group.
Ackermann was IKB whistle-blower
Shares in IKB plunged 40 per cent on Thursday following a government-led bail-out of the German lender, which warned this week of heavy losses in a fund it managed, just 10 days after it had reassured investors about its market positions.
Germany rescues subprime lender
US mortgage turmoil hit investor confidence in Europe on Wednesday as details emerged of a German government rescue of a domestic lender hit by US subprime mortgage investments. Peer Steinbrück, German finance minister,
Subprime woes hit German banks
The fallout of the US subprime mortgage market hit the German banking sector on Monday as IKB, a specialised lender to smaller companies, and Commerzbank, the country’s second-biggest bank, warned they would be hit by losses from risky property loans.