By Kim Velsey 4/01 11:42am

the high cost of banking

One of the character-stripping branches. (DNAinfo)

Could There Be Hope for the Bank-Glutted UWS?

In recent years, the Upper West Side has been besieged by bank branches, with countless TD Banks and Citibanks, Chase Banks and Banks of America gobbling up once-vibrant street corners, the dull gleam of their ATM screens casting an eerie glow on the empty sidewalks late at night.

There has been hand-wringing, there have been outcries, there is even a zoning ordinance that prohibits banks from having storefronts wider than 25 feet. And unlike the cancerous spread of Duane Reades across every corner of our fair city, which for all their colonial tendencies offer a certain languorous refuge for the stressed city dweller, no one can quite understand what is driving the bank branches’ spread. Aren’t we always told that people are doing more and more banking online? Other than withdrawing cash from the ATM, how often do most of us really visit the bank? Read More

By Kim Velsey 2/27 10:41am

Foreclosure Crisis

A Queens homeowner facing foreclosure. (NYTimes)

New York City Foreclosures Linked to Crime

New York City has, in many ways, been spared the worst ravages of the foreclosure crisis. A city of renters, where single family homes are the exception rather than the norm and co-op and condo boards regularly turn their noses up at perfectly decent financial packages, we have avoided the magnitude of problems suffered by many other American cities.

But foreclosures have still troubled the city—and often indirectly. For example, many renters in overleveraged multi-family properties suffered when landlords fell behind on payments and ceased to conduct maintenance. And where foreclosures have hit New York, they have also been tied to increases in crime, according to a new report by NYU’s Furman Center for Real Estate & Urban Policy. Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/25/12 5:51am

Morning Read

RBS Libor Rigging May Have Extended Beyond Fired Traders; Smith Barney Brand Too Old Fashioned For This World: Roundup

Royal Bank of Scotland managers and traders routinely sought to influence interbank lending rates between 2007 and 2010, and the wrongdoings extend beyond the four traders fired last year, according to Bloomberg. Manipulating the bank’s submissions for Libor and other interbank lending rates would have allowed traders to boost the value of  derivatives positions held by RBS, which is 81 percent owned by the British government.

Goodbye Smith Barney: Morgan Stanley is rolling out a name-change for the 75-year-old brand, according to The New York Post. The brokerage, jointly-owned with Citigroup, will be called Morgan Stanley Wealth Management. In its heyday, Smith Barney was known for its advertising slogan: “They make money the old fashioned way: They earn it.” Read More

By Patrick Clark 9/24/12 11:43am

murder-suicide

300px-NewCanaanRRstaTracksideView07222007

New Canaan Man Suspected of Shootings Was Former Bear Stearns, Lehman Banker

The New Canaan, Conn. believed to have shot and killed his wife on Friday before turning his weapon on himself was a former Wall Street banker previously employed at Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Bank of America, according to reports.

James D. Owen, 48, had worked on mergers and acquisitions and mid-market financing for the telecommunications industry at The Bank Street Group, according to investigative reporter Teri Buhl, who first reported on Mr. Owens’ Wall Street connections. Mr. Owen had also worked for Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Banc of America Securities, according to Business Insider. The latter firm was an investment banking subsidiary to Bank of America. Read More

By Patrick Clark 7:44am

Morning Read

Greek Parties Still Negotiating Coalition, Wall Street Still Girding for European Crisis: Roundup

Whither Europe: Greece’s leading pro-bailout party—conservative New Democracy, which won Sunday’s elections, and socialist Pasok—are still negotiating to form a coalition to govern the teetering nation. Assuming a deal gets done, the first task will be to convince Europe to rewrite the Greek rescue agreement to provide more time—and financing—to meet Read More