First Marblehead (FMD) Gets No Respect

Financial publications seems to love to hate FMD. Barron's ran a piece this week with a decidedly bearish view which prompted a firm and quick response from Tom Brown. Here is the first couple paragraphs:

Jonathan Laing’s hit piece on First Marblehead in Barron’s this weekend isn’t simply another broadside attack on the company. It’s riddled with factual inaccuracies. Let me count the ways: No, losses on loans the company has facilitated are not spiraling out of control, despite what Laing says. No, the rating agencies are not losing confidence in Marblehead’s underwriting ability (just the reverse: the company got great terms on its last deal). And no, despite years of concerns of "crippling competition," Marblehead’s profitability is not under pressure. In fact, the company has profitably gained market share and improved its profit margins.

So Laing is wrong on all his key points. A reverse trifecta! This is just another example of an opinion—I can’t call it analysis—that we have been dealing with for the past two years. Jon Laing simply doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

The full report can be found here:

http://www.bankstocks.com/article.asp?type=1&id=9881345