CHICAGO – Gov. Rod Blagojevich ordered all state agencies Monday to stop doing business with Bank of America to try to pressure the bank into helping laid-off workers staging a sit-in at their shuttered factory.

CHICAGO – Gov. Rod Blagojevich ordered all state agencies Monday to stop doing business with Bank of America to try to pressure the bank into helping laid-off workers staging a sit-in at their shuttered factory.

 

This is an ugly situation. Business are going to fail in this economy over the next year. Does this mean that every company, or lending organization owe money to workers if the business fail. Where is the line drawn.

 

Yet again, Blago being Blago. Pretty much all his political moves can be described as follows:

 

--Find a hot topic of discussion

--Place self firmly in populist corner

--Suggest something warm and fuzzy to "help" the people effected

--The suggestion will serve no actually helpful purpose

--The suggestion will cost money, but he will veto any increase in revenue OR cuts in service to achieve it

--He will get mad at the legislature for not magically creating funds to accomplish it

--In the end, nothing happens

 

I give you, our governor.

 

Yet again, Blago being Blago. Pretty much all his political moves can be described as follows:

 

--Find a hot topic of discussion

--Place self firmly in populist corner

--Suggest something warm and fuzzy to "help" the people effected

--The suggestion will serve no actually helpful purpose

--The suggestion will cost money, but he will veto any increase in revenue OR cuts in service to achieve it

--He will get mad at the legislature for not magically creating funds to accomplish it

--In the end, nothing happens

 

I give you, our governor.

 

Yes. In retrospect, his dog and pony show act before the blood had even been cleaned up from our campus, full of lies about the money the state would give us to do something respectable with Cole Hall, was absolutely sickening.

Yet again, Blago being Blago. Pretty much all his political moves can be described as follows:

 

--Find a hot topic of discussion

--Place self firmly in populist corner

--Suggest something warm and fuzzy to "help" the people effected

--The suggestion will serve no actually helpful purpose

--The suggestion will cost money, but he will veto any increase in revenue OR cuts in service to achieve it

--He will get mad at the legislature for not magically creating funds to accomplish it

--In the end, nothing happens

 

I give you, our governor.

That was a very astute summation of Blago. bravo.

i just would like BOA to come out and say why they declined they renewal of the company's line of credit and what kind of notice they gave them.

i just would like BOA to come out and say why they declined they renewal of the company's line of credit and what kind of notice they gave them.

 

Because the company was showing declining sales. They became a risky investment for a line of credit. After what has happened with Fannie May and Freddie Mac are we really going to get mad at a Fiscal entity pulling the rug out before they get caught holding the bag. BOA is responsible for the shareholders of BOA, and for their employees.

i just would like BOA to come out and say why they declined they renewal of the company's line of credit and what kind of notice they gave them.

 

Agreed. Everyone (with access to a microphone and camera that is) is all over this company for not giving their workers the required 60 day WARN Act notice, but WARN excuses such notice when a company is confronted with unforeseen circumstances, such as the unexpected loss of a customer or, as is potentially the case here, a lender's unexpected revocation of credit. Were there protracted negotiations with BOA, did the Bank just yank the rug out, or is anybody necessarily "at fault"?

exactly. as someone in the lending world, i understand that there a rules/requirements for these types of things to occur.

 

now if BOA told this customer back in Sept that the LOC was going to be revoked in November, then I've got no problem with this. If BOA just showed up last week and said we are cutting you off immediately (for any issue not associated with non compliance) then BOA's got some explaining to do.

 

I am surprised, however that in a PR move, a Harris Bank or JP Morgan Chase rep didn't come out and save the day.

I am surprised, however that in a PR move, a Harris Bank or JP Morgan Chase rep didn't come out and save the day.

Probably because BofA had some good reason to remove the line of credit.

 

Bank of America has great reasons to remove the credit. Forcing businesses to keep extending failing businesses credit is profoundly stupid.

 

Then again, we're talking about Blagojevich. I think he honestly believes that money grows on trees.

Just an aside.

 

If we continue to bail out industries, but it does not result in saving employment, have we spent that money wisely?

Probably because BofA had some good reason to remove the line of credit.

 

 

some backgroud here, the original LOC was written by LaSalle Bank per the UCC filed with the IL SOS. So most likely, when BOA took over LaSalle, that banker lost his job and the account went unassigned. Thus the original banker and credit analysts who've been working with this customer for years, no longer were around to assist or notify the customer properly.

 

 

Bank of America has received $15 billion from the U.S. Treasury as part of its effort to boost capital, while Merrill Lynch & Co. is receiving $10 billion. Bank of America is buying the world’s largest securities brokerage in a transaction likely to be completed later this month.

 

Those funds were intended to extend credit to Republic Windows and other companies, thereby retaining jobs, Blagojevich said at the news conference. “Bank of America has yet to stand up and keep these workers working,” he said.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

 

So we sent them $15,000,000,000.00 what did we buy again?

 

 

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

 

So we sent them $15,000,000,000.00 what did we buy again?

Happiness.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=206...&refer=home

 

So we sent them $15,000,000,000.00 what did we buy again?

 

The 15 billion was to open lines of credit. Now that doesn't mean that the lines of credit are opened up to companies that don't deserve it. Thats what got us here in the first place. I would rather they be frugal with the credit than to go hog wild, piss it away on companies that will fail anyway and then we have to give them another bailout.

 

 

The 15 billion was to open lines of credit. Now that doesn't mean that the lines of credit are opened up to companies that don't deserve it. Thats what got us here in the first place. I would rather they be frugal with the credit than to go hog wild, piss it away on companies that will fail anyway and then we have to give them another bailout.

This. The money wasn't for giving out lines of credit that aren't likely to be ongoing concerns.

 

Also, I read some more recent articles today on this. Apparently, B of A and this company have been in talks for months.

 

Want a bad guy here? Look at the management of the company, not the bank.

 

The 15 billion was to open lines of credit. Now that doesn't mean that the lines of credit are opened up to companies that don't deserve it. Thats what got us here in the first place. I would rather they be frugal with the credit than to go hog wild, piss it away on companies that will fail anyway and then we have to give them another bailout.

 

i will let you know that I know of a large bank in the Midwest, who has naming rights on an MLB stadium, who received a butt-load of $ in the bailout plan who has not changed their lending freeze that's been in place since October. Doesn't matter who the customer is, consumer, municipal, corporate, etc. Executive management won't decide on who/what to lend to until post January 1st at the earliest.

 

at the same point, banks are taking in deposits at a record level. Thus the extremly low rate of returns in CD's, Money Markets and Savings Accounts.

 

So at the end of the day, their is a ton of capital that is available to be leant (either by consumer deposits or via bailout plan) that are sitting in the banks and not moving.

So at the end of the day, their is a ton of capital that is available to be leant (either by consumer deposits or via bailout plan) that are sitting in the banks and not moving.

Which is of course why simply saying "Here's money, now go do what you do" like the big bailout plan did was never going to work...because unlike leaders in other countries, ours weren't smart enough to force the banks to do anything with the money they were given.

Which is of course why simply saying "Here's money, now go do what you do" like the big bailout plan did was never going to work...because unlike leaders in other countries, ours weren't smart enough to force the banks to do anything with the money they were given.

Isn't that part of the reason they are in the mess they are in, because they were forced to lend to people who couldn't afford it?

i will let you know that I know of a large bank in the Midwest, who has naming rights on an MLB stadium, who received a butt-load of $ in the bailout plan who has not changed their lending freeze that's been in place since October. Doesn't matter who the customer is, consumer, municipal, corporate, etc. Executive management won't decide on who/what to lend to until post January 1st at the earliest.

 

at the same point, banks are taking in deposits at a record level. Thus the extremly low rate of returns in CD's, Money Markets and Savings Accounts.

 

So at the end of the day, their is a ton of capital that is available to be leant (either by consumer deposits or via bailout plan) that are sitting in the banks and not moving.

 

Are you telling me that you know this bank's capital ratios? Do you know their asset valuations on the books to know that they really have capital that they could lend?

It seems giving the banks money to lend, without any checks and balances, may be a mistake. While they were too loose, totally pulling to the other side isn't what the government desired in this bailout. It seemed it was in part to prevent widespread unemployment. So far, all it seems that has been accomplished is a cool party for the execs and preserved their bonuses. At the minimum, this is not good PR. Maybe the automakers will do better with their tax payer bailout.

Are you telling me that you know this bank's capital ratios? Do you know their asset valuations on the books to know that they really have capital that they could lend?

 

i'm telling you that i work in the financial services industry and partner with this bank in many of my corporate/municipal lendings with AAA rated credits for equipment lending. These are the cream of the crop lendings with perfect payment history. Think some of the largest and safest entities here in Illinois.

 

I, as well as my industry colleagues, are being told that this bank has been frozen in lending since October and wont un-freeze until post 1/1. This is due to other areas of the bank, who was heavily invested in mortgages and consumer finance bleeding $ like crazy.

 

i'm telling you that i work in the financial services industry and partner with this bank in many of my corporate/municipal lendings with AAA rated credits for equipment lending. These are the cream of the crop lendings with perfect payment history. Think some of the largest and safest entities here in Illinois.

 

I, as well as my industry colleagues, are being told that this bank has been frozen in lending since October and wont un-freeze until post 1/1. This is due to other areas of the bank, who was heavily invested in mortgages and consumer finance bleeding $ like crazy.

 

A lending freeze doesn't necesarily mean they have money to lend, even if they are bringing in a lot of deposits. With the effect of SOX on capital ratios, they may still not have money to lend, due to the still falling valuations of their assets.

CHICAGO – Bank of America says it will extend credit to a Chicago window and door maker whose workers have occupied the factory for five days.

 

The bank said Tuesday that it's willing to give the Republic Windows and Doors factory "a limited amount of additional loans." That's so it can resolve claims of employees who have staged a sit-in since Friday.

 

The factory closed Friday after Bank of America canceled its financing.

 

Workers were given three days' notice. But they refused to leave and vowed to stay there until receiving assurances they would receive severance and accrued vacation pay.

 

The bank has been criticized for cutting off the plant's credit after taking federal bailout money.