20080805:

By the way, if you want to find out what off balance sheet items and derivatives your bank has, just follow the directions below which Jim Sinclair published on his site about 4 months ago:

Derivative position of a bank

Look at a copy of their UBPR (Uniform Bank Performance Report) and on page 5A, it shows the total derivatives that they have on their books. You can check this information on any bank by going to: http://www2.fdic.gov/ubpr/UbprReport/SearchEngine/Default.asp. Just enter the bank's name and city and it will give you the UBPR.

There is another site that works for large bank holding companies, http://www.ffiec.gov/nicpubweb/Content/help/HelpAdvancedInstitutionSearch.htm.

Once there take the following steps:

1. Go to top of page, click on "Institution".

2. Fill in the information for the address of the home office of the bank - be sure to spell the name correctly, for example U.S. Bancorp not US Bancorp - or use the RSSD ID, Routing Transit Number, or FDIC Certificate Number.

3. Click on the name of the bank that matches your search.

4. Go to "Financial Data" and click on "Create Report" for the entity you want.

5. Click on "Your request for a financial report is ready"

6. Go to Table of Contents and find page for Derivatives Reports or Click on Search for "Derivatives" on the PDF form.

7. On the page titled "Derivative and Off-Balance Sheet Transactions" the Bank's exposure is detailed for itself and in comparison with that of its peer banks. On the page titled, "Derivative Instruments" the type of derivatives held by the bank are detailed.
Kind regards
Peter Wright