The perils of government-owned banks are immediately obvious in reading the stream of news stories detailing busybodies and do-gooders who are now attempting to force banks to do things in the name of something other than profitability.
And yet. And yet this army of financial nitwits gains traction because of the persistent bad faith of long-time bankers who suffer from a tin ear and an inability to see that the jig is up.
How else to explain this gem, captured in this morning’s Wall Street Journal, from a Citigroup spokesman referring to the bank’s $400 million marketing pact with the New York Mets and that included naming rights for the Mets’ new baseball field?
“In a statement Monday, Citigroup said that ‘no TARP capital will be used’ for the stadium – referring to government funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. But as it revisits the pact, Citigroup is essentially acknowledging that the volatile political climate could make it untenable for the bank to proceed with the deal.”
To have Citi say that “no TARP money will be used” is plainly ridiculous. Once the patient receives the transfusion, is it possible to distinguish between his blood and donor blood?
To allay fears that TARP money is being frivolously wasted, Citi has just published its TARP progress report for the fourth quarter. I’ll give it a look but really don’t expect to see anything but marketing gobbledygook.
No comments:
Post a Comment