This just in from Leon Freileich, who saw the story in Crains New York. He writes, "Astoria Fed Bank — branch on 7th Avenue and President Street in Park Slope — has been TARPed. Meaning pulled out of the tubes." Astoria has 85 branches in Brooklyn, Queens, and on Long Island. Astoria is the fourth New York bank to get federal injection from TARP. Here’s an excerpt from the Crain’s article.
Astoria Financial became the fourth New York-based bank in the past week to get a federal
cash injection under the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Astoria
Financial Corp. said it received preliminary approval for $375 million
in federal bailout money, making it the fourth New York financial
institution in the past week to successfully turn to Washington for
assistance.The move, which the parent of Astoria Federal
Savings disclosed Wednesday in a regulatory filing, brings to 265 the
number of institutions that have received or applied for money under
the U.S. Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program, or
TARP, according to brokerage firm Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.
Okay, I know this is trivial but a friend of mine remarked the other day – I hadn’t really noticed – that he thought 7th Avenue Astoria Federal should be fined for never having their clock at the right time. I guess that’s not a priority if they are (truly) having financial difficulty but… what’s up with that??