Write-downs continue to dent banks’ earnings

Credit Suisse, Barclays see more write-downs

By John Spence, MarketWatch

Last Update: 9:42 AM ET Feb 19, 2008

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Welcome to our daily roundup of subprime- and
credit-crunch-related news from MarketWatch.

Each weekday morning, Subprime Today delivers a synopsis of our own coverage as
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MarketWatch also maintains an up-to-date list of jobs lost in the housing- and
mortgage-related sectors and industries. See layoffs page.
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Credit Suisse says overvalued asset-backed securities

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Shares of Credit Suisse Group (CS) tumbled on Tuesday
after the Swiss bank said, only a week after reporting earnings, that it
overvalued asset-backed securities by at least $2.85 billion. See full story.
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Barclays profit slips 4% as write-downs increase

LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. banking giant Barclays (UK:BARC)(BCS) on Tuesday
said its net profit slipped 3% in 2007 and was hit by exposure to the struggling
mortgage market. The company’s investment-banking arm also provided an update on
its remaining exposure to U.S. mortgages and other potentially risky debt. Read
more.
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Lehman facing write-downs on commercial real estate: report

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEH), which has managed to largely sidestep the
credit crunch, is facing write-downs on commercial real estate loans, The Wall
Street Journal reported Tuesday. It could be looking at a quarterly write-down in
the $1.3 billion range as credit markets have worsened in recent weeks. See full
story at WSJ.com (subscription required).
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Bond insurer MBIA brings back former CEO

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — Joseph Brown will return to MBIA Inc. (MBI) to take up
his former posts as chairman and chief executive, the struggling bond insurer
said Tuesday. Brown says he’s open to input from New York insurance chief Eric
Dinallo on how to help the industry. See full story.
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Ambac exploring fresh capital raise

Ambac Financial (ABK) is exploring a plan to raise at least $2 billion in an
effort to protect its vital credit ratings, The Wall Street Journal reported. The
move would likely signal the company’s intention to split itself into two
businesses, according to the story. See full story at WSJ.com (subscription
required).
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U.S. banks borrow $50 billion from Federal Reserve: report

U.S. banks have been quietly borrowing massive amounts of money from the Federal
Reserve in recent weeks by using a new measure the Fed introduced two months ago
to help ease the credit crunch, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The use of
the Fed’s Term Auction Facility, which allows banks to borrow at relatively
attractive rates against a wider range of their assets than previously permitted,
saw borrowing of nearly $50 billion from the Fed by mid-February, according to
the report. See full story at FT.com.
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