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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


Bank Stocks Down | WGA Bank Top 100 Index: Q2 2025
TD was up about 6% over the past three months, the only name in our test group with a positive three-month market return, of note.
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May 46 min read
321 views


Elizabeth Warren Opposed CapitalOne + Discover? Really?
When Elizabeth Warren and Maxine Waters spoke publicly against the CapitalOne-Discover transaction, they were actually supporting the monopoly position of JPMorgan and other large banks. By opposing CapitalOne-Discover and, indirectly, supporting JPM, Warren, Waters and other progressives are actually hurting low income consumers.
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Apr 206 min read
478 views


How Will Consumer Lenders Fare in a Serious Recession?
Many voices in the media and elsewhere have been predicting an economic slump since 2023. Didn’t happen, but 2025 is very different.
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Mar 2811 min read
433 views


Q: Which Top Seven Bank is Most Vulnerable in a Recession?
If we consider the larger picture, we already have years of pent-up credit expenses awaiting realization, but add to the sauce Donald Trump.
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Mar 2314 min read
682 views


Taxing Crypto? And Just Where Is That Consumer Recession?
Yes, net loss rates in percentage terms post default are back up to 2010 levels, but the dollar volume of net charge-offs remains very low.
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Jan 58 min read
418 views


WGA Bank Top 10 Index | Time to Short Financials?
When SCHW surpassed U.S. Bancorp in size in 2021, you knew that SCHW’s leadership had gotten lost.Â
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Dec 9, 20249 min read
482 views


Financials: Post-Trump Victory Notes
The changes that are going to occur in Washington over the next four years will be dramatically different than during Trump I.
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Nov 6, 20245 min read
1,106 views


Fed Duration Trap Threatens Banks, SOMA
It’s time for the Fed to get smart on duration risk before circumstances create another money market crisis.Â
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Nov 1, 20248 min read
1,098 views


Recession? Consumer Lenders: AX, AXP, ALLY, Barclays, COF, SOFI, SYF
Axos continues to rebound after the bear raid by Hindenburg Research. AX ranked 18th in the WGA Bank Top Index in Q3 2024 vs 98th for SOFI
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Sep 2, 202412 min read
726 views


Update: CapitalOne Financial & PennyMac Financial Services
Of note, PFSI has been growing share in wholesale, a direct challenge to UWMC
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Jul 25, 20245 min read
342 views


Earnings Setup: Consumer Lenders | ALLY AXP AX BCS COF SOFI SYF
The first comment to make is that consumer defaults are rising across the board. The only question we need to consider is the rate of change
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Jul 11, 20245 min read
542 views


Goldman Sachs Fails Fed Stress Test
Notice that the Fed stress test is silent on trillions of dollars in mark-to-market losses facing US banks from COVID-era securities
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Jul 7, 202410 min read
3,254 views


GSE Release? Really? Update: Ally Financial
You take the GSEs out of conservatorship, the big banks led by JPMorgan and U.S. Bancorp will own the conventional loan market
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Apr 11, 202410 min read
2,033 views


WGA Releases Top 50 Bank Index | What's in Your ETF?
Not all banks or companies are the same and not all follow the herd.
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Feb 25, 20245 min read
1,152 views


Does CapitalOne + Discover Financial = Shareholder Value?
Elizabeth Warren and progressives in Congress should support COF's purchase of Discover as a way to compete with monopoly JPMorgan
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Feb 21, 20244 min read
492 views


Good, Bad & Ugly: AXP, SOFI & BAC
AXP is a premium stock that is best acquired when people think, incorrectly, that the world is ending.
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Jan 30, 20246 min read
886 views


EVs Wane, Fintech Sputters & COF Dumps Commercial Mortgages
Now let’s take a look at how some members of the banking and fintech sector are doing in the first month of 2024.
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Jan 29, 20248 min read
812 views


Update: Citigroup Fights for Credibility
Citigroup picked up almost 10 points of book value since the end of Q3 2023.
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Dec 21, 20237 min read
616 views


Stocks, Interest Rates and Reverse RPs
Simply stated, with T-bills trading significantly above the yield on RRPs, there is no reason for MMFs to leave cash at the Fed
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Dec 8, 20234 min read
707 views


Update: Banks & Fintechs
With inflation fears moderating, look for Buy Side managers to buy bank stocks – even if earnings remain constrained...
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Jun 14, 20235 min read
786 views
Christopher Whalen
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