Shakeups at Washington Mutual and Wachovia. Roundtable Discussion with Andrew Seibert of Nextier Wealth Management and Forbes CEO Steve Forbes.

Washington Mutual shares are down after Kerry Killinger stepped down as chairman. Shares of Wachovia are falling below it’s lowest value in almost 13 years after Ken Thompson was ousted.

Chairman Lanty Smith has been appointed interim CEO. Is this new management what these companies need to get back on track? Are there more troubles for financials?

I think their values will go lower until they get a feel for who will take over. There are probably more Writedowns to come.

These banks have not gone beyond the problem of the Subprime Mortgage Industry and there is possibly another shoe to fall.

If the Credit Deterioration continues, there will be many more problems.

Wachovia has big news today. Shares of falling in the premarket after the company ousted CEO Ken Thompson.

Wachovia stated he is stepping down at the request of the board, saying no single precipitating event calls because the board to reach the decision, but a series of previously disclosed disappointments and setbacks cumulatively have negatively impacted the company and performance. Perhaps you can call it an understatement.

Shares down 57% in the past 12 months.

The average time that a home sits on the market when it is for sale is now 11 months.

So what does that mean to you and me? It means nothing. Despite what is said by the professionals, we are still facing the largest portfolio of mortgage resets from right now in May 2008 to September 2008 (Mortgage reset chart).

So what does this really mean? Now we are on to something. Until the underlining mortgage issues are resolved, meaning the homeowners with mortgage resets that become unaffordable, of which only 30% of the affected homeowners are being helped, expect further home depreciation.

CNN.com has stated within the last few weeks that even with all the programs developed by the government, only about 30% of the homeowners can be helped. The reason is obvious. Why does any, for profit banking institution, want to take on the problems of another bank?

And the math is so simple. Add the inflationary pressures of oil, energy and what they mean to consumers discretionary dollars, as well as, the volume of adjustable rate mortgages that are resetting (remember that it takes between 6 months and 12 months to foreclose on a home - every state has their foreclosure laws) and you have a formula saying that we will be having credit and housing deterioration until at least 2010.

As we continue to analyze and manage our product set, Chase has made the decision to discontinue offering our Subprime and Home Equity products through our Wholesale channel.

New Wholesale Subprime and Home Equity registrations will not be accepted after Friday, May 16, 2008.

President Bollinger, Dean Hubbard, Co-Chairman Kravis, and distinguished guests, I am very pleased to be here and especially honored to receive the Columbia Business School’s Distinguished Leadership in Government Award. This evening I would like to offer a few thoughts on mortgage markets and the recent increase in the pace of delinquencies and foreclosures. My particular focus will be on geographic variation in mortgage performance and how that variation can help us better understand and prevent foreclosures. I will also discuss some initiatives taken by the Federal Reserve to address the foreclosure crisis as well as other policies that might be used to strengthen mortgage and housing markets.

Geographic Variation in Loan Mortgage Performance

As my listeners know, conditions in mortgage markets remain quite difficult, and mortgage delinquencies have climbed steeply. The sharpest increases have been among subprime mortgages, particularly those with adjustable interest rates: About one quarter of subprime adjustable-rate mortgages are currently 90 days or more delinquent or in foreclosure. Delinquency rates also have increased in the prime and near-prime segments of the mortgage market, although not nearly so much as in the subprime sector. As a consequence of rising delinquencies, foreclosure proceedings were initiated on some 1.5 million U.S. homes during 2007, up 53 percent from 2006, and the rate of foreclosure starts looks likely to be yet higher in 2008. Not all foreclosure starts result in the borrower’s loss of the home; sometimes the borrower is able to make up the missed payments or other arrangements are made with the lender. Given the number of borrowers in distress and the weakness of the general housing market, the share of foreclosure initiations that ultimately result in the loss of the home seems likely to be higher in the current episode than customarily has been the case.

Critics are blaming Alan Greenspan for today’s financial crisis, but now the former Federal Reserve chief is fighting back.

Greenspan sets the record straight in an exclusive interview.

Part 1

Part 2

What are others saying about Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan unfair blame for sub prime crisis…

The Stock Market Crash Of October, 1987

Bank of America Net Drops 77%

Stocks to Watch: Wachovia. Wachovia to Raise Loan Loss Allocation to $500 Million to $600 Million in 4Q; World’s Biggest Banks Have Written Down $40 Billion of Assets.

Wachovia became the latest banking giant to warn that it sees bigger losses as a result of the continued deterioration in the mortgage market.

Wachovia stated in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it’s anticipating loan losses between $500 million and $600 million in the fourth quarter, citing anticipated loan growth and the impact of continuing credit deterioration in its loan portfolio.

“The expected credit deterioration will likely be focused in certain geographic areas that have recently experienced dramatic declines in housing values,” according to the filing.

Wachovia shares were off nearly 4% in premarket trading Friday morning. Due to the October market deterioration, its asset-backed collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, experienced further declines in value in the month of October 2007 by an amount it currently estimates to be approximately $1.1 billion pre-tax.

Beeland Interests’ Jim Rogers Speaks Out On Economy. Jim’s reaction to jobs data; Rogers: Federal Reserve debasing the dollar; Rogers’ outlook on commodities.

Despite Subprime Credit Concerns - Jobs increase by 166,000 signaling economy will avoid recession.