Leading Banking Analyst Cautions Investors During Downtrend

Unless buying materialises,says Richard X. Bove,vice president of equity research at Rafferty Capital,LLC in a note to investors,there is nothing to stop a massive move to the downside due to the lack of liquidity in the markets.At this moment,I would strongly caution to remain on the sidelines until a definable source of new funding is determined to maintain or bolster stock prices.
At its base,the key problem is that the historic protections that once existed in the markets to prevent massive downslides have been removed.This country's claim that it has deep and liquid markets is being put to the test.*
Mr.Bove is bitterly critical of the plethora of new regulations that have been imposed on the banking industry post-financial crisis.These include the US Congress passing the Dodd-Frank Act;Basel III,Supplementary Leverage Ratio;Liquidity Coverage Ratio;and the Orderly Liquidation Authority;and the Total Loss-Absorbing Capital Regulation.The impact of these regulations,rules and pieces of legislation has been the complete takeover of the banking industry by the government.In my view,the industry has been effectively nationalised,Dick Bove said in a December 2014 interview,in which he also predicted that banking industry regulations would limit the earnings of banks in the long term.It is these regulations that have also ultimately restricted the flow of funds to the point of making the markets vulnerable to collapse.

Thriving on Main Street:Goldman Sachs Grows in Salt Lake City

Wall Street powerhouse Goldman Sachs continues to recruit staff for its Salt Lake City office at 222 Main Street.It occupies seven floors in the new building,having moved from an industrial park in the outskirts of town.A large component of the office is Utah-raised people.
Goldman expects significant growth at this Rocky Mountains location over the next 2-4 years.It has surged from 300 to more than 1400 so far.It is their second largest office in the Americas.The regional office gives more responsibility early on,Goldman says,offering more exposure to all the firm's businesses.Positions at the office include Investment Management;Operations;Services and Technology;and Investment Research.
Goldman praised the excellent talent and resources it has been able to tap into through the Utah education system and general labour market.Utah lends tremendous value to its global businesses.Many employees continue their careers in other offices in the Americas,Europe and Asia.In a recent survey,employees rated their experience at this office 3.7 out of 5 stars.
Goldman has been moving people out of New York to such non-traditional hubs largely to cut costs.It is following a trend by financial services companies to open offices in high quality of life/low cost areas such as Salt Lake City and North Carolina.
Goldman's Salt Lake office has been recognised for the diversity of its staff.Some of them never expected to work for the financial services titan.
In addition,the Goldman program 10,000 Small Businesses is recruiting students for its academy at Salt Lake Community College.Participants have expressed high regard for the program that brings Goldman's expertise to bear on small business issues.They are attributing double digit revenue and jobs growth based on the knowledge and networking offered through the program.
Goldman Sachs(GS)

Should You Buy Citigroup Shares

Citigroup has a competitive advantage,in the view of David Konrad,CFA,Managing Director at Keefe,Bruyette and Woods.They will be able to sell Citi Holdings,their troubled assets,and are doing well at this time of growing trade finance.Citi is improving its Basel III captial ratio.
The drag of Citi Holdings will decline each year,easing significantly over the next few years.The bad bank will take five years to entirely dissolve.In about two years,Citi Holdings will be less than 10% of Citigroup.
The stock will rally 33%.We do a lot of stress models,and we think the capital is there.The transparency has gotten better over the past year.KBW has upgraded Citigroup to outperform,with a price target of 44 dollars.
Keefe,Bruyette and Woods is a full service boutique investment bank.Its specialty is the financial services sector.
Citigroup closed at 34.78 on Monday.
Citigroup(C),Keefe Bruyette and Woods(KBW)