…And Then They Collapsed

If you have to prove it then it probably isn’t true.

"As Walter Bagehot, the British financial journalist and historian, wrote in 1873, 'Every banker knows that if he has to prove that he is worthy of credit, however good may be his arguments, in fact his credit is gone.' (Norris, Floyd. Big Fall Evoking Nasty Old Memories Of a Run on a Bank. New York Times.pg. A1)."

In this case, if you have to say it, then it probably isn’t true.

Today, Treasury Secretary Mnuchin was quoted as saying:

“Boeing has said that they have no intention of using a program that may change in the future,’ Mnuchin said. ‘These are things that the companies need to come and ask us for. ... Right now Boeing’s saying they don’t need it.’ (Andrea Shalal and Doina Chiacu; Writing by Lisa Lambert; Editing by Nick Zieminski. U.S. not bailing out airlines, Boeing not using federal money: Treasury Secretary. Reuters. March 27, 2020.).”

Let’s examine the history of some famous quotes, sometimes just days before the company in question collapsed or got bailed out.

Freddie Mac

"Freddie Mac has maintained the highest possible capital rating. The company continues to hold a surplus above its regulatory requirement that will enable it to continue to support the nation's housing markets.(Waggoner, John. "Mortgage giants insist they're fine." USA Today, 11 July 2008, p. 01B.)."

Fannie Mae

"Likewise, Fannie Mae managing director Brian Faith defended the adequacy of his company's capital. Faith said Fannie's core capital on March 31 totaled $42.7 billion, or $11.3 billion more than its minimum requirement (Waggoner, John. "Mortgage giants insist they're fine." USA Today, 11 July 2008, p. 01B.)."

Bear Stearns

"'Bear Stearns' balance sheet, liquidity and capital remain strong," Chief Executive Alan Schwartz said.' ("Bear Stearns denies cash crunch rumors." International Herald Tribune, 12 Mar. 2008, p. 15.)"

Lehman Brothers

"LEHMAN Brothers was forced to deny liquidity problems as traders speculated that America's fourth largest bank could run out of cash like its smaller rival Bear Stearns ("Lehman hits out at claims over liquidity." Daily Mail [London, England], 18 Mar. 2008, p. 72.)."

SocGen

"'We will not be affected. No way it can affect the stability of the French banking system,' he stated ("SocGen fraud not to affect French banking system: Sarkozy." PTI - The Press Trust of India Ltd., 25 Jan. 2008.)"

Tyco International

"Dennis Kozlowski, chairman and chief executive, insisted there was 'nothing negative going on' at the company and suggested short-sellers were using the uncertainty to profit from falls in Tyco's stock price.

"Tyco said it had called the latest meeting to respond to the 'continuing stream of baseless rumours that are depressing our stock' (Larsen, Peter Thal. "Tyco in move to reassure investors." Financial Times, 21 Jan. 2002, p. 21.)."

"Dennis Kozwolski, Tyco's chairman, said his business 'has no comparisons to any failed company out there' but said higher borrowing costs, weakness in the electronics sector and persistent rumours meant that Tyco might miss its full-year earnings target. ("Tyco to reassure investors weekly." Times [London, England], 7 Feb. 2002, p. 27.)."

MF Global

"In response, MF said it was "very well capitalised (Blas, Javier, et al. "Sharp fall forces MF Global capital clarification." Financial Times, 18 Mar. 2008, p. 42.)."

Thai Currency

“'I will never devalue the baht,' Chavalit vowed to the nation. “'If I did, we would all be poor' (Horn, Robert. That sinking feeling. Forbes. Aug 20, 1997,11:00pm EDT.)."

WorldCom

“"I want to assure our customers and employees that the company remains viable and committed to a long-term future" (By Jon Van and Delroy Alexander. Andersen was WorldCom auditor. Baltimore SunTribune. June 26, 2002. 3:00 AM.).”


Washington Mutual

"On Sept. 10, 2007, Washington Mutual CEO Kerry Killinger stood before an audience of analysts and money managers and assured them the Seattle-based thrift would come out of the housing slump stronger than ever (By Drew DeSilver. Part one | Reckless strategies doomed WaMu. The Seattle Times. Originally published October 25, 2009 at 12:01 am Updated December 23, 2009 at 5:28 pm.)."

Global Crossing

“Olofson felt that massaging the press releases to present favorable figures to the press and analyst community is one thing, but that improper accounting for capacity swaps were another matter (George A. Chidi, Jr. Global Crossing battles accounting controversy. CNN.com
February 12, 2002 Posted: 8:37 a.m.).”


Elan Corp.

“According to the complaint, during 2000 and 2001, Elan represented in its public statements that it was generating record amounts of revenue, net income and operating cash flow from drug sales and licensing activities. Elan also claimed that it was making significant progress towards achieving its goal of transforming itself into a fully integrated pharmaceutical company and generating $5 billion of annual revenue by 2005.(Securities and Exchange Commission v. Elan Corporation. SEC. February 8, 2005.).”

Royal Ahold

“The situation at Royal Ahold lends support to that perception ‘because it appears the insiders knew what was going on’ (Royal Ahold's Royal Hold Up. Apr 23, 2003.).”

Adelphia Communications

“Adelphia Communications' former finance chief Timothy Rigas lied to investors about company debt, subscriber growth and upgrade of cable-television lines, an ex-director of investor relations testified yesterday.  Adelphia executive lied to investors, jurors told (David Voreacos. Apr 20, 2004. Bloomberg News.).”

Enron

"Enron Chairman Kenneth L. Lay exhorted employees in September to buy more Enron shares and reassured them that the company’s upcoming quarterly financial report was “looking great” only weeks before the energy trader disclosed the worst results in its history and a billion-dollar write-down that destroyed its public credibility. (MICHAEL A. HILTZIK AND E. SCOTT RECKARD. Enron Chairman Urged Employees to Buy Stock. Los Angeles Times. January 19, 2002. ).”

“Long bull markets always seem to result in laxity and complacency. (Tran, Mark. WorldCom. The Guardian. June 26, 2002. ).” –Hank Paulson

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