American Banks: A House of Cards

beyondthemargin.net — Reputation and trust are the cornerstones of financial stability. Once public confidence is eroded, an institution loses the ability to fund illiquid long term assets as credit availability evaporates. In order to magnify the relatively small spreads earned between borrowed funds and earning assets, banks utilize a high degree of leverage, often op Jul 14, 2008 View in Crawl 4