BBV come sweat the stock market with me

[octaveshift]

As you know Ahnuld, I got into ETFC near the bottom on Monday, and am staying long. I'm up ~60%+.

Holla.

The CEO was on CNBC today, and said bankruptcy was not likely. Here's a rough summary of what he had to say:

Q - Citigroup report? Thoughts?
A - Fundamentally, analyst can do what he wants. But our view is bankruptcy is unlikely; absolutely irresponsible of that analyst to make that comment.

Q - Write down is not enough. How much more is to come?
A - We do not know the answer; market changes; market is volatile; we are well-capitalized; ability to sustain $1 billion in writedowns; calls and inquiries about concerns have slowed.

Q - Can you rule out bankrupsy?
A - We can categorically rule out bankrupsy given what we know now.

Q - Vulnerable for takeover?
A - Not more or less vulnerable for a takeout but this positions us for finding the right partner. We can absolutely turn this around. We need to separate success in the core franchise from the problems in the balance sheet. Core numbers have never been stronger in growth in numbers, assets, margins, etc.

Q - But the Market sees it differently?
A - I understand but we are correcting our balance sheet problems. We should not have owned certain assets. My job is to continue to strengthen the franchise. We hired a very well known third party consultant to value mortgages and we are comfortable with their guidance.

Q - Layoffs, writedown, reductions?
A - No, we need to reposition the balance sheet. Reduce liabilities. Balance will shrink but get better.

Q - How much longer will cycle last?
A - I remain bearish for 18-20 months.