BNP Paribas; Northern Rock; Alliance & Leicester; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts

You were warned about writedowns...

BNP Paribas, France's largest bank, reported a 42% decline in Q4 profit after writing down the value of securities.

BNP Paribas took €589 million of writedowns on leveraged loans and debt backed by bond insurers, and set aside €309 million linked to U.S. loans and securities.

For 2007, full year profit rose 7%, but the bank's €1.2 billion writedown costs have driven the stock down 20% this year.

You were warned about lenders and banks...

Last night, BOE bank bailout continues as legislation to nationalize Northern Rock cleared all its stages in the lower chamber of the U.K. Parliament....

Alliance & Leicester Plc Finance Director Chris Rhodes:

"Unprecedented conditions in the financial markets have had a significant effect on A&L's financial performance and priorities during the second half of 2007,

and on our ability to deliver our strategic objectives in the short term. There is a long way for the credit crunch to play out
."

The U.K. mortgage lender scrapped its profit target and will not raise its 2nd half divident.

The bank gets almost half its funds in the capital markets and now faces higher borrowing costs. Over the last 6 months stock down 52%.

You were warned about LBO leveraged buyouts...

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR, which invests in corporate debt and mortgages, agreed with holders of

its residential MBS mortgage backed securities to defer repayment on its ABCP asset back commercial paper.

KKR Financial Holdings LLC, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.'s publicly traded fixed-income fund,

delayed repayment and started restructuring talks with creditors for a second time.

Felix Freund, at Union Investment GmbH:

"The picture is getting worse and worse, (a 2nd extension) shows there is still a lot of levered investments in the credit market that we can't see."

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