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The Institutional Risk Analyst
© 2003-2025 | Whalen Global Advisors LLC All Rights Reserved in All Media | ISSN 2692-1812
Banks | Markets | Finance


Top Five US Banks by Market Performance
In times of market volatility and suddenly ended delusions of easy money, the prudent path is to fly to quality.

R. Christopher Whalen
Jul 7, 20225 min read
474 views


Hard Landings & Systemic Crypto
Putting dollar leverage under crypto tokens – that is to say, under nothing – makes for infinite dollar risk.

R. Christopher Whalen
Jul 4, 20226 min read
572 views


Bank Earnings Setup: JPM, USB, WFC, BAC & Citi
Most of the banks in our surveillance group are down between 10% and 30% so far this year, but none of these are particularly cheap as yet

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 29, 20228 min read
575 views


Bank Liquidity & Quantitative Tightening (QT)
A "normal" level for US bank deposits would be closer to $15 trillion than $19.9 trillion today.

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 27, 20223 min read
932 views


New Residential Pivots, Gets "Rithm"
NRZ must pay $400 million to Fortress to end the relationship with the external manager, a final act of squeezing NRZ shareholders

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 22, 20225 min read
813 views


The Fed and Housing
Issuing CMOs via the GSEs could help the FOMC out of its trading mess, but represents a monumental irony.

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 20, 20228 min read
1,621 views


Update: US Banks Post-QE
Even as the FOMC raises interest rates, we caution our readers to be prepared for disappointment from banks near term

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 15, 20225 min read
410 views


QE = Supranormal Credit Risk
Given the demand for safe assets, the true risk free rate today is probably less than zero. Ponder that Chairman Powell

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 12, 20227 min read
563 views


Interest Rates and Residential Mortgage REITs
We see an at least equal chance that margins will get squeezed for agency and MSR investors before they expand via higher interest rates

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 9, 20228 min read
617 views


Memo to Gary Gensler: Beware the “Non-Controlling Interest”
As a result of the adoption of "artificial intelligence," the 21st Century investor is mostly a victim in waiting.

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 6, 20226 min read
1,294 views


Update: Upstart Holdings & Cross River Bank
If investors and partner banks don’t want to buy UPST loans at current market rates, then the game is over in an originate to sell model

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 2, 20227 min read
786 views


Labor Day Fishing at Leen's Lodge
By the end of August, the bugs are gone but the fish are still biting, making for a perfect way to end the summer.

R. Christopher Whalen
Jun 1, 20223 min read
483 views


QT Means Short Credit Risk
Market risk realized today becomes credit risk tomorrow...

R. Christopher Whalen
May 31, 20226 min read
1,249 views


The IRA Bank Book | Outlook Q2 2022
The sharp rise in bank stocks in 2021 coincided with a surge in operating income due to COVID. Now we reverse that trend in 2022...

R. Christopher Whalen
May 29, 20222 min read
402 views


FOMC vs TGA; PennyMac Financial & United Wholesale Mortgage
Net, net, the dynamics in the market are actually forcing interest rates down

R. Christopher Whalen
May 25, 20229 min read
649 views


Equity Market Valuations & Quantitative Tightening
The reduction in the Fed's balance sheet is the largest ever margin call on equity exposures of all descriptions.

R. Christopher Whalen
May 23, 20227 min read
1,004 views


Update: Crypto Frauds and Fintech Dreams
Q: What do Elon Musk and Masayoshi Son have in common? Gigantic margin loans...

R. Christopher Whalen
May 18, 20226 min read
529 views


Interview: Dan Sogorka of Sagent Lending Technologies
The new technology that powers the Sagent-Cooper vision for servicing is already proven in the market

R. Christopher Whalen
May 16, 20227 min read
738 views


Feldkamp: Paul Volcker, Volatility, Inflation & Honesty
Benevolence, as Chris and I noted in our book "Financial Stability," always gets you more bang for the buck than being miserable.

R. Christopher Whalen
May 13, 20225 min read
499 views


Does ICE + Black Knight = Shareholder Value?
ICE buying the revenue streams represented by BKI is a big bet on yesterday, not a bold initiative to change the mortgage industry

R. Christopher Whalen
May 11, 20228 min read
465 views
Christopher Whalen
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