That one was too good to pass up.


SEC scraps bank oversight program
SEC ends 'fundamentally flawed' program of voluntary oversight for Wall Street banks.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday it was ending a program of voluntary oversight for Wall Street investment banks that its chairman said clearly has not worked.

It was the latest shift in the regulatory landscape stemming from the financial crisis that has gripped the markets and thrown Washington into fevered negotiations over a $700 billion bailout plan.

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox announced the agency's decision to end the program under which SEC examiners inspected the five biggest Wall Street banks: Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), Lehman Brothers (LEH, Fortune 500), Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) and Bear Stearns Cos.

The financial upheaval of the last six months has "made it absolutely clear that voluntary regulation does not work" for the bank supervision program, Cox said in a statement. The program "was fundamentally flawed from the beginning, because investment banks could opt in or out of supervision voluntarily," he said.



Wachovia Suitors May Delay Bidding After Dimon's Deal for WaMu

Sept. 27 (Bloomberg) -- Wachovia Corp.'s suitors may use a template honed by JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon last week: Wait to see whether regulators will seize the bank, then buy the best assets and let the government sort out the rest, according to analysts.

Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co. and Banco Santander SA are in talks with Wachovia, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. They're part of the same group that passed on a chance to buy Washington Mutual Inc., which the U.S. closed two days ago, leaving JPMorgan to buy WaMu for $1.9 billion, a fraction of its previous offer in March.

The bidders may try that tactic again at Charlotte, North Carolina-based Wachovia following its 27 percent plunge in New York trading yesterday, according to analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Egan-Jones Ratings Co. They may get help from regulators, who said the U.S. benefited from seizing and selling WaMu because the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. didn't have to tap its $45 billion insurance fund.




Britain to nationalize Bradford & Bingley: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will nationalize troubled mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (BB.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the BBC reported on Saturday, but the government said discussions on the bank's future were still going on.

It would be the second British bank to be nationalized this year after Britain, buffeted by the global financial crisis, was forced to take Northern Rock into public ownership in February.
The credit crunch, sparked by losses on poor-quality U.S. home loans, has claimed a growing number of high-profile banking victims around the world.

The BBC said the decision to nationalize Bradford & Bingley, using legislation put through to deal with the Northern Rock crisis, would be announced on Sunday evening or early Monday.



Belgian, Dutch Officials Seek `Solution' for Fortis

Sept. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Discussions between European, Dutch and Belgian officials on the future of Fortis, Belgium's largest financial-services firm, carried into the evening as they sought a "solution'' for the beleaguered bank.

Dutch central bank chief Nout Wellink and Finance Minister Wouter Bos went to Brussels for talks with the Belgian government and regulators. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet met with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme and Finance Minister Didier Reynders today.

Fortis fell a record 20 percent in Brussels trading two days ago on concern the firm would struggle to raise the 8.3 billion euros ($12.1 billion) it's seeking to bolster reserves. The bank said Sept. 26 its financial position is "solid,'' and replaced interim Chief Executive Officer Herman Verwilst with Filip Dierckx, who heads the banking unit. Managers and government officials are considering a possible sale of part or all of the bank, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unidentified people familiar with the situation.