Merrill Lynch warns of more sub-prime hits

Merrill Lynch takes $7.9bn sub-prime hit and warns that worst is to come

Written by Nicholas Neveling

US investment bank Merrill Lynch yesterday revealed that it had taken a $7.9bn (£3.5bn) hit from its exposure to sub-prime mortgages and warned that further bad news could be around the corner.

The bank said it had taken a conservative view in its valuations, but said that because valuations in a frozen market were so difficult to calculate, further hits down the line were a possibility.

Advertisement

Accounting rules allow banks to mark sub-prime instruments to model in a frozen market, but such modelling is notoriously complicated and open to error.

US investment banks have taken billions of dollars in write-downs from sub-prime exposures.

Further reading:

Further writedowns expected for US banks

Tags:

  • Have your say
  • Send to a friend
  • Share
  • Print

Comments

White papers

Related jobs

More Accounting jobs

Spotlight

Cutting Pompey to the bone

Portsmouth administrator andrew andronikou has his work cut out saving...

Tell it like it is

Professional service firms have a responsibility to practice what they...

Profile: Eric Anstee

The former chief executive of the ICAEW has plenty to...

More finance jobs

Search thousands of finance jobs:

Find your next job

Hiring now on AccountancyAgeJobs.com:

Your next job

Related finance jobs

Search thousands of finance jobs:

Find your next job

Newsletters

Sign up here for the very latest news delivered to your inbox. Choose from the following options:

Newsletters

Have your say

Following the PBR, who do you think should reside in No. 11?
Alistair Darling
George Osborne
Vince Cable

Advertisement

White papers

How to make better financial decisions - Free FD Handbook

When reviewing your business and accounting software, this free two- part guide explains all you need to know.

The Future of the Financial Close: Automating Account Reconciliations and Review

Many firms have made account reconciliation automation the focus of their drive. This paper describes why.

More white papers

Advertisement

White paper library

Keep up to date with the latest products, services and technologies from the world's leading IT companies; IThound.com brings you over 6,000 white papers, case studies and analyst reports.