EBANK Releases Financial Statements Revealing Depth of Crisis
In a statement released yesterday Ray McCormack, chairman of EBANK, announced the astonishing news that the organisation currently has a deficit of 1.2 trillion ISK. Furthermore, to maintain the stability of the bank they are suspending withdrawals, and interest payments, on all accounts held with them until such time as the bank's balance sheet is restored to strength.
When asked how long it might take until normal service resumes, Ray McCormack commented: "we're aiming for a year." The magnitude of the task ahead can be seen in the bank's financial statement, which reports their assets to be worth an estimated 884 billion ISK, while its liabilities exceed 1.9 trillion ISK. The reasons for the largest losses in ISK have been revealed in the statement as:
- 250 billion ISK - Embezzled by Ricdic
- 275 billion ISK - Default on loan arranged by Ricdic
- 75 billion ISK - EBANK Salaries
- 36 billion ISK - Share Default Freelancers Inc. Research Division
- 35.9 billion ISK - Loan Default
In addition to the account suspensions the bank also plans to begin an aggressive policy to recover ISK lost from those who have defaulted on their loan agreements. Any party that fails to come to an equitable arrangement with EBANK could find themselves named in public, an act that will surely damage permanently their future business prospects. Based upon Ray McCormack's estimation, 150 billion ISK of the 257 billion ISK loan book is made up of toxic debt. It appears that the recovery process for EBANK will be a difficult and lengthy one.
This recent shock has only confirmed one ex EBANK customer's view of banking institutions in New Eden: "Well, I think these [types] of things are basically time bombs. With that much on the line and so many things that can go wrong ... it's a disaster waiting to happen." Adding: "It's been proven that the risk is too high for what you get out of it."
Another ex-customer of EBANK added their own reaction to the statement: "I feel extremely bad for the people that have had their accounts "frozen" and I don't think Ebank is going about repairing things in an ideal way."
As and when more information comes to light on Ebank's financial situation, follow-up reports will be published by the Interstellar Correspondents.
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