Tough Times for Lenders : Financial Services Lawyer & Attorney : Winstead Law Firm : Finance, Banking, Bankruptcy

On the 4th of July.  I suggested that you celebrate it by becoming more "involved" in understanding what is being called the greatest "reform" or restructure of our national economic platform since the Great Depression (remember: we're only in a "recession").

If you're following this important financial reform bill (the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act), you know that it passed the House on Wednesday, June 30 by a vote of 237-192.  You also know that three Republicans broke party ranks and voted for the bill: Joseph Cao (LA), Mike Castle (DE) and Walter Jones (NC).

How do I know this? How am I following this very, very important bill?

I'm using Google Reader to track all appearances of the phrase "Dodd-Frank" in these three information sources:

• in news accounts on the Internet (using the Google News search engine)
• in blogs on the Internet (using the Google Bog search engine)
• in twitter entries on the Internet (again, using the Google Twitter search engine)

OK, I agree: this sounds way, way "techie" and a real pain - just too many clicks and steps.

Google, however, makes it very, very easy: Google Reader automatically does all of this for me.

Consequently, it is very, very easy to track the bill's progress through Congress, and to read commentary about it.

For example, Google Reader collects these different perspectives and commentators on the bill:

• Open Left, which is a "website dedicated toward building a progressive governing majority in America"
• Deal Book on the New York Times' website, which is starting a "tour" of the sixteen titles of the Dodd-Frank bill
• Commentators such as Tyler Cowen, who give his unique assessment of various aspects of the bill (Wikipedia describes Cowen as a "libertarian bargainer")

Come on - don't you want to watch and read this great debate on this important bill?

It is so, so easy to do using Google Reader.

For step-by-step instructions (6 total steps) on "how" to do this, go to my earlier posting on using Google Reader for your lease surveillance projects.  The six steps are at the end of the blog post.

The instructions are easy.

The benefit to you will be great.

The Internet is the new knowledge bank.  Use it.

And happy 4th of July to  you!

If you have other "hot" topics that you're following, please post them below.

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Recently, I've addressed the importance of community banks in the economic recovery, and in furnishing credit for commercial real estate.  My focus is on the draft legislation prepared by Representative Minnick (D-Idaho) extending federal aid to community banks (prior blog and refrence to an earlier blog), which will allow community banks to make small commercial real estate loans on favorable terms.

During a panel presentation during the second day of the June Convention 2010 of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council, the comment was made that Representative Minnick's bill will be introduced in the House some time this week, perhaps as an amendment to other legislation.  The comment was made that the legislation might include commercial real estate lending.

Several comments:

• Life insurance companies view this legislation as unfairly and inappropriately favoring small banks, at the expense of life insurance mortgage lenders, in making small commercial mortgage loans
• if this legislation becomes law, no doubt the message is that any recovery from the credit crisis remains fragile
• if this legislation becomes law, the follow up question is "will this be a slippery slope leading to government sponsorship of larger commercial real state loans?"

So, let's keep a watch for this legislation.

If you have information or comments on this topic, please post a comment below.

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The importance of community banks to small businesses, and consequently to the broader U.S. economy, has been largely ignored in our focus on "too big to fail" (relating to the largest banks) and now on "sovereign credit risk" (relating to the credit rating of Greece, Spain and Hungary).

Aid to community banks just might be coming onto the national stage (see my earlier posting on this topic).

Jeannine Aversa of the Associated Press reports that in a June 3rd speech in Detroit, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recognized this latest hurdle as being fundamental for economic recovery: getting loans to small businesses.

Aversa reports that Bernanke noted the following in his speech:

• 2nd quarter 2008 (financial crisis at full throttle): lending was almost $700B
• 1st quarter 2010 (as economy improved): lending fell to $660B
• Bernanke and the Fed are focusing on ways to ease the credit crisis for small businesses, and will present their findings at a conference later this summer

Of course, as the architect of the country's monetary policy, Bernanke has no direct control over fiscal policy, which is controlled by Congress and the White House.   (Difference between monetary policy and fiscal policy.)

However, Bernanke is very influential.  His focus on lending to small businesses could (and I predict, it will) rally support in Congress for Federal aid to community banks - such as  "The Community Bank and Commercial Real Estate Stabilization Act of 2010" described in my earlier posting.

This is worth watching.

If you have any comments or additional information, please post a comment below.

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Some people point to this as a positive point on the credit crisis trend line:

• Life company commitment to commercial mortgage lending remains strong
• Generally, life companies generally have NOT decreased their commercial mortgage origination allocations for 2010 (when compared to 2009)

Question: is it correct to say that, at least for commercial mortgage credit from the life insurance companies, the credit crisis has softened a little bit?  More money now is available?

I say “not really.”

It is a “now you see it, now you don’t” experience.

While I do not have hard, empirical data to support this statement, the typical life insurance company mortgage seems to be using 20%-30% of the 2010 mortgage loan allocation to renew, extend and modify loans currently in the portfolio.  Unlike in the past, however, insurance companies are reaching "deeper" into their portfolio as they examine loans that might leave their portfolio at maturity.  Instead of looking at loans maturing in the next 6 months, they are looking closely at loans maturing in the next 12 to 24 months.  And then they use a significant portion of the 2010 mortgage loan allocation to refinance the best of those loans.

This means there is less money available for "new" borrowers currently seeking mortgage funds from life insurance company lenders.  (Now you see it; now you don't.)

Why this "longer" look at the current mortgage loan portfolio?

• Life companies remain very sensitive, as they should be, about the effective of the “mortgage experience adjustment factorr” to their balance sheet. Thus, they remain very cautious lenders when it comes to commercial mortgage lending.  They are my poster children for my "real money for real people" mantra (meaning, they continue to apply conservative underwriting standards, using the best loan-to-value and debt service coverage tests, etc.).  So, they are motivated to retain the best mortgage loans on their portfolio; and will refinance them now (and not wait for them to mature in the next 12-24 months.
• Rating agencies are now focusing on, and up-dating, the capital adequacy tests used by them in evaluating real estate investment risk for insurance companies.  For example, in April, Standard and Poors updated its asset stress capital factor analysis.   The criteria are replacing S&P’s existing methodology for evaluating the capital adequacy of insurers related to their holdings of CMBS, directly originated commercial real estate loans and RMBS.

This plays out like this:

• Assume life company X has $1.5B in mortgage lending allocation for 2010; maybe as an increased amount over the 2009 allocation
• As it monitors it’s mortgage portfolio, it not only identifies loans at risk of not being able to find new sources of financing (to pay off the mortgage), but it also now has identified loans that are the “best”: great debt service coverage; great sponsorship; great tenant mix; great location; etc. In other words, it knows the relationships and projects that the life company does NOT want to lose at loan maturity.
• The life company renews, extends and modifies the terms of these best loans right now – even though the loan will not mature until 2011 or 2012
• Faced with a certain increase in interest rates over the next few years, this "best" borrower jumps at the opportunity to renew and extend at the current “low” interest rates
• These are loans that are NOT competing with borrowers needing funds in the next 6 to 9 months
• The result: a portion of the 2010 mortgage loan allocation is deployed
• Less mortgage money available in the market for near term or immediate loan maturities
• Then, add in improved rating agency evaluation standards and a better understanding of the risk position of insurance companies in commercial mortgages, the result is that real estate allocations now are under even more scrutiny (as real estate "competes" with other investment classes for the investment $ at insurance companies)

So, don’t get too “excited” as you hear or read that the credit crisis has “softened” due to life company “commitment” to commercial real estate mortgages.

More is NOT more in this instance.

More really is less.

Life insurance companies remain true to their conservative, careful nature.

Question: are you seeing this, too?

Please post you comment or question below.

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On Friday, April 9^Th, I attended Commerce Street Capital's Eighth Annual Bank Conference & Golf Tournament. The Conference focused on challenges facing regional and community banks, with a theme of “Keeping a Sharp Eye on the Road Ahead.” Commerce Street Capital is a trusted investment banking firm that focuses on the banking industry, both regionally and across the nation.

The opening comments by William D. "Tex" Gross were particularly interesting to me. Tex is one of the founders of Commerce Street Capital, and one of the “deans” of banking in the Southwest. During his career, he has mentored many leaders in the financial services industry. So, he had everyone’s total attention during the opening remarks.

Tex jumped into the "big picture" elements of the credit crisis.  While he did not expressly say this, his message was "don't forget 'how' we got in this mess."  He did this by recommending several books, and then asking four pointed questions.

He recommends these five (5) books as the best in telling the story of our current work lives:

1. House of Cards ; A Tale of Hubris and Wretched Excess on Wall Street by William Cohan.
   Tex’s commentary: a good telling of the Bear Stearns collapse
2.  The Sellout: How Three Decades of Wall Street Greed and Government Mismanagement Destroyed the Global Financial System by Charles Gasparino
   Tex’s commentary: hard reading but a great book
3. A Demon of Our Own Design : Markets, Hedge Funds, and the Perils of Financial Innovation by Richard Bookstaber
   Tex’s commentary: good description of the early warnings of the credit default debacle
4. Colossal Failure of Common Sense : The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers by Lawrence G. McDonald, Patrick Robinson
   Tex’s commentary: all about the Lehman Bros collapse; the best book; an easy read
5. The Big Short : Inside the Doomsday Machine by Michael Lewis
   Tex’s commentary: a story about those who shorted the credit default swaps in MBS

Tex then closed with four (4) excellent, rhetorical "questions," which from my perspective are driving the financial reform bill through Congress.

• For the rating agencies:
  why would anyone rely upon you (the rating agencies) when the rated party pays the fees of the rating agency?
• For the Big Banks and GSEs (Fannie, Freddie):
  how could you expect to survive when you were so highly leveraged?
• For the regulators:
  why did you allow all of that leverage?
• For AIG and Wall Street:
  why did you create the ‘naked bets’ inherent in credit default swaps, without any reporting component?

The "questions" are right on; and the books seem like good reads.

If you have a favorite book, or your own question, please post it below.

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Once again [link to earlier letter], in a letter dated March 25, 2010, the 21 key industry groups band together in an attempt to focus the Senate on the importance of the securitization market, and to caution the Senate on the proposed reforms relating to the securitization market. The players in this group represent an extremely broad segment of the US economy:

• American Bankers Association
• American Hotel & Lodging Association
• American Resort Development Association
• American Securitization Forum
• Associated General Contractors of America
• Building Owners and Managers Association International
• Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute (CCIM Institute)
• Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (formerly CMSA)
• Community Mortgage Banking Project
• Institute of Real Estate Management
• International Council of Shopping Centers
• Loan Syndications and Trading Association
• Mortgage Bankers Association
• NAIOP, Commercial Real Estate Development Association
• National Apartment Association
• National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts
• National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers
• National Association of Home Builders
• National Multi Housing Council
• The Real Estate Roundtable
• Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association

The challenge is to keep the message, and the Senate’s focus, simple despite the expansive scope and length of the “Restoring American Financial Stability Act of 2010”  – yet financial reform is a topic that invites amendments. (Recall the 473 amendments made on the bill in the Senate Banking Committee.)

The letter [download] addresses the importance of the securitization market as a key source of liquidity for economic recovery. The message is very simple and pointed:

• credit markets are constrained despite enormous demand for credit and significant loan maturities – all in the face of declining values
• new accounting changes will limit balance sheet capacity and the overall amount of credit
•  the bill’s proposed “risk retention” terms will further limit balance sheet capacity and lending capacity

The letter states that “given the totality and far reaching implications of regulatory and accounting changes, there are serious concerns about the future viability of the securitization markets that are critical to borrower access to credit and an overall recovery.”

Perhaps because the letter is from a broad segment of the US economy, it does NOT address several important topics of importance to commercial real estate, such as -

• Covered bonds: note that on March 18, the House Financial Services Committee – Capital Markets Subcommittee (ranking members are Scott Garrett, R-NJ, Chairman Paul Kanjorski, D-PA, and Spencer Bachus, R-AL) introduced covered bond legislation. I’ll address this important bill in a future blog posting (For background on covered bonds: link)
• Rating agency reform: clearly this is a topic of key importance for securitizations involving commercial real estate (i.e., CMBS).

Regardless, it is good to see a broad spectrum of key industry groups join together is support of a specific, and focused, aspect of the reform legislation.  The collective strength will be needed.  It will be an up-hill battle.

If you have thoughts or comments, please post them below.

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As I noted previously [link], the mid-term elections significantly limit the time period for Congress to pass a meaningful financial reform bill. The “window” for this closes in August – five months from now – when the fall election campaigns kick into high gear.

With this short-course in mind, the CMSA and other key industry groups (listed below) are peppering Congress with this message: restoring lending for commercial real estate, and the capital markets supporting this lending, are critical elements for the nation’s recovery from this great “recession.” AND action needs to be taken now.

Here are three examples (with a few comments by me) of action taken over a recent Thursday through Monday:

1. Thursday, Feb. 25 Letter: The organizations include those listed in a letter [download\link] sent on Thursday (Feb. 25) to Committee Chairman Chris Dodd and Ranking Member Richard Selby of the Senate Banking Committee. It is an impressive list:

American Hotel & Lodging Association

American Land Title Association

American Resort Development Association

Associated General Contractors of America

Building Owners and Managers Association International

CCIM Institute

Commercial Mortgage Securities Association

Institute of Real Estate Management

International Council of Shopping Centers

NAIOP, Commercial Real Estate Development Association

National Apartment Association

National Association of REALTORS®

National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers
National Multi Housing Council

Briefly, this letter argues that the “risk retention” requirements (also known as “skin in the game”) for CMBS 2.0 issuances need to allow a third party (known as the “B-piece” buyer) to hold that risk. 

Comment: one lesson learned from CMBS 1.0 that this third party will undergo greater financial scrutiny and underwriting by the initial investors, AND by potential buyers in the secondary trading market. And, I believe, investors will look for ways both to monitor the “skin in the game” party and to receiver better loan level information if\when a workout or default arises under a specific loan. Underwrite this third party? Sure. Better information from this third party? Bet on it.

2. Joint Panel Hearing on Friday, Feb. 26: The House Financial Services Committee (chaired by Barney Frank, D-Mass) and the House Small Business Committee (chaired by Nydia Velazquez, D-NY) held a hearing to discuss commercial real estate and issues facing small businesses.

Questions:

• How many people attended this hearing? (Hopefully more people than the handful who attended the Dec. 15 hearing on covered bonds.) [link to my two postings on that meeting]
•  What kind of media coverage did the Feb. 26 hearing generate? Was it “lost” in the health care debate and other issues?

3. Monday, March 1 position paper: The CMSA issued a paper titled “A Framework for a Sustainable Commercial Real Estate Recovery” [download\link]. This is a must read. The paper gives a succinct description of the current state of the CRE market, a listing of “unique” features of the CMBS product and market, and a framework for CRE recovery.

A few comments:

• There is no mention of CDOs [link] – thankfully.
• The paper states that one unique feature of CMBS is “most CBMS loans have 5- to10- year terms with 20- to 30-year amortization schedules.” Question: no mention of all of the interest only (“IO”) loans? What percentage of the loans currently in special servicing loans are IO loans? When people discuss implementing “standard underwriting” standards, are they really talking about banning IO loans?
• The paper states that the structure of CMBS allows investors the ability to gather detailed, loan level information; and that the information available to investors is “tremendous.” While this is the message in the front entry hall, the pillow talk in the bedroom between investors and special servicers is all about the need for MORE loan level information.  Greater loan level transparency is a late night topic certain to bubble up in the CMSA's new Investor Forum.
• The paper points to a recent European ruling that requires credit agencies to implement new ratings for certain US securitized products. Putting aside the merits of the argument, it is alarming that the investment community appears at odds with industry organizations on this basic issue – or at least the EU sees it differently. Can this get any more complicated? (Remember: the window slams shut in August.)
• Finally, I’m pleased to read that covered bonds remain on the list. Covered bonds [link] are a favorite topic of mine - as the best, long-term capital market product for commercial real estate.

If you have any questions or comments, or some observations of your own, please post a comment.

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Day Five Report from Keith Mullen and Lou Strawn in Europe

Our trip to the EU nears to the end as we touch down in London for a brief day and a half stay.

The cultural change between the two cities is a bit of a shock (or to phrase it as an American, it is "stunning"). And, of course, the difference plays out on page one in banner headlines of the London newspapers:

• The Guardian: Lost in Iceland - L1 billion from councils, charities and police
• The Daily Mail: Cold War!  As Iceland refuses to honour L20bn British investments in its failed banks, furious PM goes on the attack and freezes THEIR assets
• The Times: "World must follow my example," says Brown

While the British are reserved in their personal communication (when compared to us), and dry in their humor, these headlines clearly show that the economic crisis is at the top of their day - for the entire day.

Tomorrow morning we return to the U.S., and on Monday to the granular expression of the new economy: the work on individual, troubled credits. We do so with a new appreciation of the global reach of the economic crisis.

We definitively are not in it alone.

If you have any observations or comments, or any questions that you'd like to ask about our EU trip, please "post" a comment.
 

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Day Four Report from Contributing Writer Brenda Brown (with Keith Mullen and Lou Strawn) in Europe

On this fourth day of our trip, I awoke to yet more news of the ever-evolving, now global ‘credit crisis’ during our stay in Munich, where we are attending a real estate conference. It's great to be back in Munich (where I studied during college) to experience the Bavarian culture again, and to readjust my ear to the unique Bavarian accent. I'm amazed at how quickly my ability to even "think" in German (auf Deutsch denken) returns to me. While Keith Mullen and Lou Strawn listen to CNBC Europe and read the English papers, I focus on the German media.

German news highlighted the general instability and frozen financial markets now spreading across Europe, the 40% loss of value of the Royal Bank of Scotland, Iceland’s nationalization of banks, possible bankruptcy of its banking system, and the current, virtual standstill in commercial real estate finance.

Uncertainty in the financial markets seems a greater concern than illiquidity. However, one has to wonder, and ask the age-old question, “which came first?”

The daily changing financial crisis has caused a general perception that real estate investment capital will remain, in large part, on the sidelines during 2009, waiting not only for the “bottom” in valuations, but also for a sense that conditions are stable.

Predictions indicate that over the next year future loans will involve significantly lower risk, and therefore will be ‘safer’ for lenders (due, in part, to better income coverage and value ratios). The headline of a front page article in the Immobilien Zeitung (the German real estate trade newspaper) sums up the apparent turn to avoidance of risk: Investment Markets - 2009 will be ‘the Year of Safety’.

German TV this morning also surprised me when I heard the newscasters telling people not to take their money out of the banks.

The three of us are amazed at how the Germans share the same concerns as we do. At a cocktail party last night, conversing with the locals, it was clear that the 40-something generation is concerned, but generally believes it will work out. By contrast, our parents' generation seems to have a grave concern that we'll see a crisis that may take decades to recover.

If you have any observations or comments, or any questions that you'd like us to ask during our EU trip, please "post" a comment.
 

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Day Three Report from Keith Mullen and Lou Strawn in Europe

On this third day, Keith Mullen, Brenda Brown and I attended the opening session of a European-based real estate conference.

The opening meeting was a Q&A session with a panel composed of the head of a major German bank, the head of the Morgan Stanley European Real Estate Fund and the former chairman of the Euro Hype Fund. The room was standing room only, and the subject was (you guessed it) "Subprime, Credit Crunch Nonperforming Loans . . . The Year After (Strategies for dealing with the crisis)."

What is clear is that the Europeans are as concerned about their banking industry as their U.S. counterparts. The panel stated that this crisis has migrated from a "credit crisis" to a fundamental "trust crisis," and that trust will not be restored by more or stronger regulation, or enforcement, but by the investment behavior of the banking institutions themselves. Upon reflection, it is an interesting and alarming thought.

On a brighter note, the panel emphatically stated that there was no real danger of EU depositors losing funds as of last Friday (October 3rd), when it became clear that members in the EU would commit (and had committed) bailout capital similar to the U.S. Germany committed 520 billion euros; Ireland committed 400 billion euros; and Holland a similar amount. (This amount is in excess of the U.S. bailout.) However, these members did not take the buy "toxic debt instruments" like the U.S., but instead, they elected to directly back bank deposits.

The panel also discussed the volatility suffered by EU banks due to the swings in "mark to market" rule interpretations -- it was almost as if the panel was describing the U.S. banks. And, of course, the panel at length focused on the need for transparency, and the "German mortgage bond," which we know as the"covered bond."

No one clapped at the end of the session.  Everyone simply left the room.

If you have any observations or comments, or any questions that you'd like us to ask during our EU trip, please "post" a comment.
 

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Day Two report from Keith Mullen and Lou Strawn in Europe

The second day of our trip (and the first full day) is sunny, without a cloud in the Munich sky. To acclimate ourselves to the time change and for a quick immersion into German culture, we take a long walk through the Englischer Garten, which is the "central park" of this manicured Bavarian city. We're seeking a late brunch and perhaps some beer.

The park is alive in the celebration of Oktoberfest. If life on the U.S. side of the pond has inhibited or sheltered you from this event, think of it as a mixture of the Texas state fair (which is the largest in the U.S. except Oktoberfest is much, much, much bigger) and pregame at The Grove when LSU is in Oxford, Mississippi playing Ole Miss (except substitute beer for whisky, but much, much more beer). Now throw in a wonderful mix of old and young wearing traditional Bavarian clothes. It is a colorful and engaging picture.

While the beer mugs at the Chinesischer Turm and the Seehaus are many and full, the credit crisis is a dark cloud.

Here are several examples:

• At the concierge's desk at our hotel, free copies of the October 2 issue of Time magazine are available. The feature story is "The New Hard Times" and the cover shows a soup line from the '30s. Both Lou Strawn and I are military "brats" who lived in then West Germany in the '60s, when our U.S. military fathers were part of the U.S. occupation after WWII. The hard times story strikes a deep chord.
• At the Seehaus beer garden, we join several hundred people enjoying the sun and rich German beer. The couple sitting next to us reads the Munich paper. Like The Times in London, the credit crisis is fully covered. But in Munich, the failure of the German Hypo Real Estate fund grabs head lines.
• Back at the hotel, the news shows focus on one thing: the economic crisis, the bank bailouts, the Hypo Real Estate failure, etc.

Sunny skies. Oktoberfest. World-wide economic crisis. Both sides of the pond focused on troubled times.

This was NOT on the itinerary when we started planning this trip six months ago.

If you have any observations or comments, or any questions that you'd like us to ask during our EU trip, please "post" a comment.
 

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Day One Report from Keith Mullen and Lou Strawn in Europe

London's Heathrow Airport certainly is a remarkable place. The entire world seems to be here in a controlled chaos that the Brits handle with great charm and even wit.

After an exhausting 8-hour flight, we homestead several chairs and grab the Saturday (October 4) edition of The Times.  It doesn't take us long to discover Britain's interest in the financial crisis. The crisis appears in a text box on page one with a lengthy story and a smaller story on page three. In addition, the business section of The Times contains several stories covering subjects related to the crisis, and Martin Walker's column which focuses solely on the U.S. bailout legislation.

We have six hours before our plane departs for Munich.  Reading these stories energizes us and helps us fend off the desire to nap.

Here is what we're reading:

• Like their U.S. brethren, the Brits see the crisis to be at the end of the beginning with no one really knowing how long this will last and when (or even if) the bailout will succeed.
• The Brits view the financial crisis as long and deep with extensive damage to world economies in terms of job loses and GDP.
• Martin Walker acknowledges that initially he, like other Brits, placed fault at the feet of the U.S. financial system, but he now states that this misconception has evaporated by recognizing the EU role in it: the near collapse of Italy's Unicredit, government packages for Greek and Ireland banks, and bailouts in Belgium, Holland, Germany and Iceland
• There is widespread acknowledgment of the "R" word (recession), and EU leaders are all over it. (Calling for a summit to respond to a banking crisis described as unlike any other since the '30s)

We've only been across the pond for a few hours. Our initial observation is that we are in tough times, both in the U.S. and in the EU.

From this perspective, the pond looks like a puddle.

If you have any observations or comments, or any questions that you'd like us to ask during our EU trip, please "post" a comment.

 

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Keith Mullen and Lou Strawn head to Europe
Next week, we will be in Munich, Germany and then London, England visiting clients, and meeting with investors, lenders, title companies, investment bankers, mortgage bankers and fund advisors -- almost the entire spectrum of the "players" in the international real estate space.

We think that we know what some of the hot topics will be:

• What replaces the CMBS financed product? (covered bonds?)
• How "deep" is the stress in the U.S. commercial real estate markets?
• The U.S. economy in the next couple of years
• The much-discussed federal legislation and the "new" role of the U.S. government in the economy
• The demise of the U.S. investment banks (what's next?)
• "Where" are the opportunities for investors (debt and equity)?
• U.S. finance laws
• Transparency: tell us more about . . . .
• The U.S. Presidential election and the possible changes with the "change"

To keep you informed, we'll be blogging on a frequent basis during our stay in Europe.  If you have a favorite topic, or simply a question that you'd like us to ask during our trip, please "post" a comment for us.

(And yes, it is Oktoberfest in Munich.  Merely a coincidence. . . . )
 

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