assets

According to the latest stats Americans' wealth grew 2.2% in the July-September as stock portfolios surged.

Meantime, the report from the Federal Reserve shows that household net worth rose to nearly $55 trillion, even though the value of real estate holdings sank 3.7%.

This can be hardly matched to the pre-recession peak of $66 trillion but it is still far above bottom hit during the recession: $49 trillion in the first quarter of 2009.

The Federal Reserve has issued a new report addressing regulators. The report was required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act focuses on the potential impact of credit risk retention requirements on securitization markets. 

"Consistent with the flexibility provided in the statute, the board recommends that rulemakers consider crafting credit risk-retention requirements that are tailored to each major class of securitized assets," the report said.

An executive of Goldman Sachs, Fabrice Tourre who was recently charged with misleading investors about risky assets ahead of the US housing market meltdown has said that nobody charged him with fraud, reports AFP. According to Fabrice Tourre he reasonably relied on Goldman Sachs’ institutional process to ensure adequate legal review and disclosure of material information, and cannot be held liable for any alleged failings of that process.

Lehman Brothers International reported Tuesday that almost all the clients whose assets have been frozen since the investment bank's contraction support the intension to return the money early next year.

In November PricewaterhouseCoopers PWC.UL sketched out a plan to return about $11 billion held in custody by March 2010. This scheme required 90% of Lehman's clients to approve the plan by December 29.

As PricewaterhouseCoopers, administrators for bankrupt Lehman's London-based unit, announced on Monday Lehman Brothers International, that has over $35 billion of hedge fund assets frozen since the bank's recession last September, indents to pay back about $11 billion to fund managers by March in case 90% of Lehman's clients approve the new plan.

The number of U.S.-dollar millionaires in China is expected to nearly double in five years, luring private bankers eager to help them invest an expected combined wealth over $7.6 trillion by 2013, Boston Consulting Group (BCG) said on Thursday.

Global wealth declined last year for the first time since 2001, the consultancy said, but the number of Chinese individuals with household financial wealth of more than $1 million may grow to 788,000 by 2013 from 417,000 in 2008.

The Federal Reserve's low interest rate policy is meant to encourage investors to move into riskier assets in order to promote economic recovery, and there are no signs currently the policy is resulting in the build-up of a U.S. asset bubble, the central bank's number-two official said on Monday.

 Bank of America decided to sell First Republic private bank to a group of private equity investors. Among the participant are General Atlantic Partners and Colony Capital, are part of the deal, with First Republic Chairman and Chief Executive James Herbert part of the winning bid.

According to the official statement of BofA First Republic's current management would continue to run the bank. The transaction is scheduled for the second quarter of 2010.

 The administrator for Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc plans to seek permission to remove the claims against the bank from British courts and give out assets directly to creditors, the Wall Street Journal said, citing a joint administrator for the collapsed investment bank.

 Three more large investment firms have raised sufficient capital to participate in the joint partnership with the government to purchase toxic assets from banks.

The Treasury Department said Alliance Bernstein LP and BlackRock Inc., both headquartered in New York City, and Wellington Management Co., based in Boston, had all raised the $500 million minimum to begin operations.

 Yesterday it was reported that Barclays plans to purchase Citi’s credit card business in Portugal. The company didn’t provide any details on the financial terms of the agreement. The Wall Street Journal reports that Barclays is paying less than $100 million.

Thereby, Barclays will acquire about 400,000 credit card accounts with the assets totaling about EUR644 million. The Citi cards will be rebranded over time. Besides, the unit and its workforce will be integrated into Barclay’s division in Portugal that has 130 branches across the country.