As the European sovereign debt crisis continues to unfold, it is increasingly obvious from the width and depth of the irresponsibility of all involved, that banks like Citigroup (NYSE:C), Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM), which are getting hammered today, will suffer from the shoring up of the socialist, progressive, welfare states of Europe, whose citizens they’ve socialized into thinking the rest of us should support their above-market wages, perks and lifestyles.
That fantasy is ending, and it could bring down the economic system as we know it, and make the last several years look like “happy days are here again.”
This is the reason the Federal Reserve has already tried to convince Americans they’re protecting U.S. banks when they provide funds to bailout Europeans. These banks acquired the bonds that allowed these types of lifestyles to continue, and now that is being given as the reason we should help bail them out.
Another reason for the bank stocks getting hit hard is the uncertainty concerning the banking regulations and how far they’ll go, and whether or not they could hurt the revenue and earnings for them.
Once that is clarified, investors will have a better picture on the future performance of the giant banks, and know whether or not to put their money into them.
It’s hilarious to see Europe try to blame this solely on the banks, although they do have culpability in the matter. This is being done because of the public sentiment toward banks, which if the politicians can paint as the bad guys, will take the focus off of them, who refused to operate within the economic guidelines all of the European Union had agreed to.
The banks and politicians were in this together, but the politicians are trying to blame the banks to save their jobs, so they’re trying to retain the favor of the public.
Austerity measures being forced upon any European country that wants to get bailed out, is harming the banks at this time, especially those with the largest amount of exposure in the region.
Of course there are numerous other variables for the major U.S. banks, and it would take a book to talk about them all. The point of this is Europe has revealed the soft underbelly of the practices of banks, and to continue to buy up dubious debt will continue to cost them until they drop the practices and start operating like private businesses trying to make a profit, and not as charity organizations which provide funding beyond what the market can handle.
That’s why Europe is on the brink, they are living beyond the means of what the market can sustain, and now it’ll have to pay for endless printing of money and buying of debt which they will probably never have paid back to them. Europe is increasingly looking like a third-world region, and banks need to take that into account if they want to survive as viable and real businesses in the future.