$400 billion losses on subprime, predicts Deutsche Bank

Subprime losses could total $400 billion by the time the crisis has run its course, with large international banks and brokers taking up to a third, according to research published by Deutsche Bank yesterday.

New York-based analyst Mike Mayo wrote that banks and brokers would see an estimated $60 billion-$70 billion of subprime writedowns by year end. This would represent at least half of the total losses of between $100 billion and $130 billion in the banking and broking sector, he said.

Subprime loans, which make up $1.2 trillion of the $10 trillion US mortgage market, would see default rates between 30% and 40%, with losses of 40% to 50%, he predicted, giving overall losses of $150 billion to $250