Bruce Berkowitz gave a brief interview with Bloomberg on Thursday. The full video is below. Here are some highlights:
· It’s time for the sake of the country to move forward
· Everybody had a hand in this and everybody can help out, move us forward.
· More so, because I’ve been able to see [the banks'] earnings for the past few quarters; the trends are getting better, the balance sheets are building, tangible book value is growing, cash flow pre-tax, pre-provision income is there to take care of the problem. The problems from 2007-2008 still have ways to burn through, but we’re more than half way through the problem now.
· I think Winston Churchill had it right when he said we go through every alternative and sometimes on the last possible alternative we get it right.
· I’m not good on the macro economics, what I do know the financial system — the banks that I own, the brokers that I own, the insurers — they are the financial system of the United States. I’ve been to the United States treasury, I’ve seen the federal reserve, they’re not that big a place. I mean our companies are the financial system of the United States and they will be fine and they are stronger and better than they have been in a very long time.
· The price of Bank of America (BAC, Financial) reflects extreme pessimism that JP Morgan’s (JPM, Financial) price doesn’t have. So when you compare what you have to pay to what you get, I’m with Bank of America.
· It’s time for the sake of the country to move forward
· Everybody had a hand in this and everybody can help out, move us forward.
· More so, because I’ve been able to see [the banks'] earnings for the past few quarters; the trends are getting better, the balance sheets are building, tangible book value is growing, cash flow pre-tax, pre-provision income is there to take care of the problem. The problems from 2007-2008 still have ways to burn through, but we’re more than half way through the problem now.
· I think Winston Churchill had it right when he said we go through every alternative and sometimes on the last possible alternative we get it right.
· I’m not good on the macro economics, what I do know the financial system — the banks that I own, the brokers that I own, the insurers — they are the financial system of the United States. I’ve been to the United States treasury, I’ve seen the federal reserve, they’re not that big a place. I mean our companies are the financial system of the United States and they will be fine and they are stronger and better than they have been in a very long time.
· The price of Bank of America (BAC, Financial) reflects extreme pessimism that JP Morgan’s (JPM, Financial) price doesn’t have. So when you compare what you have to pay to what you get, I’m with Bank of America.
