Dick Bove Says Chance Of Double Dip Is Now 40-60%, Butchers JPM Earnings And Jamie Dimon
Courtesy of Tyler Durden
Something is rotten in the state of Rochdale. One of the most bullish banking analysts ever, Dick Bove, just crucified not only JP Morgan’s earnings report, but also said Jamie Dimon "missed it completely on housing", and lastly, has turned extremely bearish on the overall economy, saying there is a 40-60% chance for a double dip, which at last check is probably more bearish than David Rosenberg. Bove throws up all over JPM "good" results, stating it is all a function of loan loss reductions, which the bank is in no way entitled to take at this point, when there is so much negative macro data piling up. As NPLs are likely to continue deteriorating in the future, should the economy weaken further, JPM would have to not only replenish existing accounting gimmicks such as boosting Net Income via balance sheet trickery, but to put even more cash to preserve a viable capitalization ratio. As Bove is the quintessential contrarian indicator, we are preparing for a month long sabbatical to a Buddhist monastery in Tibet to thoroughly reevaluate our perspectives on the universe.
Bove asks: "if the economy is going to expand, how is it going to expand when the money supply is shrinking. If you can’t come away with a strong feeling that this economy can plough right through a decline in money supply and continue to grow, then you better not be reducing reserves by $1.5Bn in a particular quarter." On the economy: "There is a "40-60% shot we are going to double dip. If they can’t get money supply to turn around and go up there is a very high probability we double dip." The reason: "The Fed has lost total control of money supply and it’s in the hand of the banks. The banks make money supply going up by lending money. If you want to force the banks to increase their capital ratios, they can’t increase their loans. If they don’t increase their loans, you don’t get an increase in the money supply. If you don’t get an increase in the money supply, it is very difficult to see how the economy can be robust going forward." And some shockingly harsh words on Jamie Dimon: "I would say Jamie Dimon missed it completely on housing. If you look at his housing loan losses there is no indication whatsoever that JPM understood what was going on in the housing market. If you look at the numbers today, the loan losses on prime mortgages are still going up. To assume that Jamie Dimon understood what was going on in housing would be totally contrary to what happened." His conclusion on JPM: "I think JPM took reserves down too dramatically given the fact that we do not have a clear picture where this economy is going to be on December 31 of this year."
