Looks like West Brom Building Society is going UNDER

mariegriffiths

steady__eddie wrote: »

"The West Brom has been a mutual building society for 160 years and is committed to staying that way. That is because, as a building society, we don't pay dividends to outside shareholders. This means that we are able to pass on more to our members." :T

from http://www.westbrom.co.uk/160years/

time to call the ASA. Liars.

mariegriffiths

asbokid wrote: »

I see the hand of GMAC, the finance arm of General Motors, is yet again behind another British banking crisis.

Yet more dodgy yankee car loans have been dumped on the Great British Building Society sector... and no surprise those loan books have turned sour.

You've got to wonder why the societies ever bought these ticking timebombs known as "collateralised debt obligations". I guess the BS directors were never really in it for the members. Most of them are Establishment nerds, parachuted in from the City, and that is where their allegiance always lay - in the City. In fact many of the societies' board members are still working in, and for the City. Cuckoos in the Nest. Foxes in charge of the Chicken House..

This whole charade remind me of the party game "hot potato".. The CDOs that the Societies have been snapping up with our hard-earned savings are like the hot potato in the party game. You never hold them for a second longer than necessary because you WILL get your fingers burned.

So where is GMAC in this, and who is REALLY managing it from behind the curtain? Best guess is the same old hands who've pulled the strings of Western finance for hundreds of years..

The FT reports that there are 60 subordinated debt holders owed £188m. They will be swapping their debt holdings for an equity stake in the West Brom. They become shareholders. And their new holdings will be ranked pari passu with ordinary building society members.

In effect, the West Brom is being partially de-mutualised to benefit the usual City Rogues - a sinister and faceless cabal of London bankers. And as for the members? Their assets are being diluted by 20%, to begin with.

The bankers are now brazenly robbing the building society sector, one of the last bastions of people-power in finance.

This private demutualisation will be the first of many.

It would be nice to hear the Tories stand up for the little man and condemn this swindle. But since those crooked tyrants are simply the other end of the same pantomime horse that houses New Labour, that is a slim prospect.

The contrived collapse of the building society sector through carefully choreographed crisis after crisis, is all about consolidation, removing choice and competition.

The High Finance fascists who run the City and Wall Street are determined to rape the little people for the very last cents in our wallets.

That is a very good post and I agree with every point.

Trollfever

Buy-to-let loans on flats marketed by a controversial Leeds property entrepreneur, Simon Morris, lie behind some of the financial problems of the West Bromwich building society, which was forced to broker a deal to shore up its finances today.
The building society put up cash on "grossly overvalued" Morris properties at the height of the boom, according to investors, some of whom say they are now facing the prospect of repossession or bankruptcy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jun/12/west-bromwich-loans-police-inquiry

SnowMan

West Bromwich covered on radio 4 money box today. The item is at the beginning of the programme (43 seconds in) and can be accessed from the bbc iplayer and includes an interview with the chief executive of West Bromwich, Robert Sharp

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/money_box

Chadsman

Around what percentage of profits does a bank pay as dividends to shareholders?

opinions4u

Chadsman wrote: »

Around what percentage of profits does a bank pay as dividends to shareholders?

In the case of Lloyds and RBS this year? Naff all.

Cozworth806

West Brom is locking up 25% of profits if I am hearing correctly

Joe65_2

These Debt for Equity swap things, are like your employer saying we cann't afford to pay you, but we can give you shares in the company instead... just as it's about to go under.

Let's hope they never try that on with their Savers.

brewerdave

My fixed rate E bond matures on 29th June - it sure as h**l isn't going to be reinvested with the West Brom.!!

Steve_xx

brewerdave wrote: »

My fixed rate E bond matures on 29th June - it sure as h**l isn't going to be reinvested with the West Brom.!!

If your fixed rate bond is for less than 50k than it matters not a jot if you invest it with West Bromwich due to the fact that deposits of 50k or less are fully protected under the FSCS.