Are we anywhere near recovery yet?

That the answer is "No" is confirmed by the latest figures from the Federal Deposit Insurace Corporation:

All the institutions insured by it together reported a net loss of US$3.7 billion in th quarter ending June 2009, even though they had a net income of US$7.6 billion in the previous quarter.

Provisions for loan losses totaled $66.9 billion in the 2nd quarter this year, an increase of $16.5 billion (32.8%) year-on-year.

Extraordinary losses stemming from writedowns of asset-backed commercial paper totaled $3.6 billion.

Noninterest expenses were $1.7 billion (1.7%) higher year-over-year - though it must be conceded that this may have been primarily due to increased FDIC deposit insurance premiums.

Indicators of asset quality continued to worsen during Q2.

And so many people still want to believe not merely that we have reached the bottom of the cycle but that things are actually improving! Sphere: Related Content