Won't Somebody Please Think of the Bankers?

I'm a bit late getting to this, but according to an article in yesterday's New York Times, next year might be a terribly painful year for the banksters:

Most banks are hunkering down in anticipation of another big wave of real estate and consumer loan losses. Small and midsize banks are expected to be hit especially hard: They must absorb nearly $900 billion of commercial real estate losses over the next few years....

The big banks, meanwhile, face a range of new regulations that take effect in 2010. Rules curbing overdraft fees and predatory practices in the credit card business are expected to squeeze the flow of billions of dollars from penalty income. They will also have less wiggle room as regulators require them to hold larger cash reserves, reducing their returns and forcing them to be more conservative.

That heralds a sharp drop in profits, especially if the ebullient stock and bond markets, which generated billions in trading revenue last year for Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street giants, tapers off in 2010.

Omigod! It's going to be just horrible for banks!

How horrible? This horrible: