Late yesterday, a co-worker stuck his head in my office and said: “I sure hope you don’t have any Detroit bonds on the books.” I hadn’t seen that city’s bankruptcy announcement yet, but I assured him we didn’t. You couldn’t have paid me enough to buy any of its debt, at least since we opened Oakworth.
As everyone knows, Detroit has been on the proverbial decline for years. Its population topped out in the 1950 Census at 1,849,568, and has fallen every single census since, hitting 713,777 in 2010. That is a 61.4% drop. What’s more, the 2012 population estimate was 701,475, another 1.7% decline…Read On…
The opinions expressed within this report are those of John Norris as of the initial publication of this blog. They are subject to change without notice, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oakworth Capital Bank, its directors, shareholders, and employees.