Top 10 Bank lists for 2008

TIME Magazine has published
a long range of Top 10 lists for 2008.

This includes the Top 10 Financial Moves:

1. Postpone your losses.

2. Accelerate income.
3. Identify hidden income.
4. Defer expenses.
5. Get invested for the times.
6. Look for bargains.
7. Think green.
8. Claim your full government benefits.
9. Give something away.
10. Switch to more tax efficient investments.

All very sensible.

Then there’s the Top 10 Financial Collapses:

1. Losing Lehman*.
2. AIG’s Credit Default Swaps.
3. The Detroit Three.
4. The Citigroup Colossus.
5. Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae Shareholders.
6. Supposedly “Safe” Securities.
7. Rating Agencies’ Credibility.
8. Exploding Hedge Funds.
9. Greenspan’s Reputation.
10. Iceland.

Not so nice.

My favourite though has to be the Top 10 Bank Slogans:

1. Washington Mutual: “Whoo hoo!”

2. Lehman Brothers: “Where vision gets
built”

3. AIG: “The strength to be there”

4. IndyMac: “You can count on us”
5. Capital One: “What’s in your wallet?”

6. World Financial Group: “No family left
behind”

7. Morgan Stanley: “World wise”

8. Security Pacific Bank: “Smarter
Money”

9. Nationwide: “Protection”

10. T. Rowe Price: “Invest with confidence”

And a partridge in a pear tree.

* There’s a great article on the fallout from Lehmans in the Times today