TARP

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Krugman on Toxic Assets Plan: 'What an Awful Mess'

(Newser) - The Obama administration’s new plan for dealing with toxic bank assets is “creating massive moral hazard,” Paul Krugman blogs in the New York Times. The idea of providing taxpayer money to insure the purchase of possibly worthless assets is equivalent to the poor practices laid bare in...

13 Bailed-Out Banks Owe Back Taxes
13 Bailed-Out Banks Owe
Back Taxes
Mar 19, 2009 11:25 AM CDT

13 Bailed-Out Banks Owe Back Taxes

Lawmaker uncovers total of at least $220M in unpaid bills

(Newser) - At least 13 of the firms that got billions of dollars from the federal government owe back taxes, and their tab exceeds $220 million, Rep. John Lewis said today. What's more, that could be just the tip of the iceberg, the AP reports. The House Ways and Means subcommittee, which...

AIG Mess Shows Why the Feds Should Quit Banking

(Newser) - All the hubbub around AIG and its bonuses is “a complete farce,” Larry Kudlow writes in the National Review. No one should be surprised that those in charge have “completely bungled” the situation. “The government shouldn’t run anything, because it cannot run anything,” Kudlow...

Wall St. Looks to Skirt Bonus Limits With Padded Salaries

Attempt to skirt new rules could anger shareholders

(Newser) - In a move to skirt government restrictions on executive pay for recipients of bailout cash, some Wall Street companies are discussing raising base salaries, the Journal reports. Citigroup and Morgan Stanley are considering the idea, which is gaining currency as regulators keep a watchful eye on bonuses, say industry insiders....

Waters Helped Get Funds for Bank With Family Ties

Critics see major conflict of interest

(Newser) - Maxine Waters is getting lots of unwanted attention about her role in helping a bank with family ties get a helping of TARP money. Both the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal have stories raising questions about whether the California congresswoman used undue influence to get aid for...

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage
TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage
Mar 11, 2009 3:15 PM CDT

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage

Banks can't make bad loans for lending's sake, says Kashkari

(Newser) - Neel Kashkari, the man who manages the Troubled Asset Relief Program, doesn’t think the government ought to try to make decisions for the banks it helps, he told lawmakers today. “However well-intended, government officials are not positioned to make better commercial decisions than lenders,” he insisted. He...

Some Banks Want to Bail on Bailout
Some Banks Want to Bail
on Bailout
Mar 11, 2009 2:20 AM CDT

Some Banks Want to Bail on Bailout

Critics charge growing list of conditions will damage industry

(Newser) - A growing number of banks are seeking to return or avoid government bailout funds because of the lengthening list of conditions attached to the money, the New York Times reports. Critics say the terms—including modification of mortgages and caps on executive pay—smack of economic engineering. Bankers are especially...

Citigroup Paid Employees $13M for Scrapped Resort Trip

Bahamas trip for top performers was nixed after spotlight put on bank's spending

(Newser) - Citigroup employees whose jaunts to the Bahamas were canceled amid scrutiny of the bailed-out bank's spending were paid $13 million in compensation for the scrapped getaway, insiders tell Bloomberg. Sales agents—all 1900 of them—who had been scheduled to stay at a swanky resort were paid $5,000 each,...

Banks Have Gotten a Bum Rap: BofA Chief Ken Lewis

The steps already taken are working, so let the market sort it out

(Newser) - Banks have been unfairly tarred by misconceptions about the current financial crisis, Bank of America CEO Kenneth Lewis argues in the Wall Street Journal. It's not true that banks aren't lending, he writes. They are just doing so more responsibly, as they should. And it's not true that bad banks...

Fear of Unforeseen Chaos Keeps Feds Bailing Out AIG

(Newser) - If you want to understand the phrase “too big to fail,” look no further than AIG, the Los Angeles Times reports. With $1.1 trillion at the end of 2007, operations in 130 countries and 74 million customers, AIG is so entrenched in the global financial system that...

Outrage Over Bank's Golf Tourney Is Misplaced
Outrage Over Bank's Golf Tourney Is Misplaced
OPINION
Feb 28, 2009 3:27 PM CST

Outrage Over Bank's Golf Tourney Is Misplaced

(Newser) - “Golf, with its traditional fat-cat image, is an easy target for abuse, some of it deserved,” John Paul Newport writes in the Wall Street Journal. But the recent hubbub over Northern Trust’s sponsorship of a PGA tourney—that bank received $1.6 billion in TARP funds—threatens...

Banks That Fail 'Stress Test' Have 6 Months to Fix

(Newser) - The federal government has begun its so-called "stress tests" of the nation's big banks, reports the Los Angeles Times. The tests will run through April, and the banks will have to prove they can withstand a worsening economy—even if unemployment rises above 10% and home prices decline 22%....

Stimulus Slashes Bank Bonuses

Package bans cash bonuses for bailed-out firms' high earners

(Newser) - A late addition to the stimulus package puts tougher restrictions on executive pay at bailed-out financial institutions, reports the Wall Street Journal. The rules go further than the Obama administration proposed, affect more employees, and could seriously crimp the culture of gargantuan bonuses. The big one: Bonuses can't exceed one-third...

Geithner's Not Reassuring Anyone
 Geithner's Not 
 Reassuring 
 Anyone 
Opinion Roundup
Feb 11, 2009 8:43 AM CST

Geithner's Not Reassuring Anyone

They're not buying it, Tim

(Newser) - The financial world was desperate for answers yesterday, but what Timothy Geithner delivered “was a work in progress,” says the Washington Post editorial board, “more a concept than a plan, really.” It was like “Geithner at the Improv,” the Wall Street Journal agrees. Markets...

'Humbled' Bank CEOs Will Deny Blowing Bailout

Top bankers face grilling today from furious Congress

(Newser) - Bank bosses being grilled by Congress today will defend their use of bailout cash, according to prepared testimony obtained by Reuters. Chief executives from the eight biggest US banks arrive in Washington this morning—by public transportation instead of private jet this time—and are expected to strike a note...

Stimulus: Home, Car Buyers Win, States Lose

Pay, bonuses restricted for employees of TARP firms

(Newser) - The $835 billion stimulus plan approved by the Senate today helps out home builders, manufacturers, and buyers of homes and cars, reports the Wall Street Journal. The bill allows manufacturers and construction firms to use any 2008 and 2009 losses to offset tax liability going back as far as 2003....

Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan
 Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan 
Feb 10, 2009 10:33 AM CST

Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan

(Newser) - Attempts to revive the banking industry so far have been “inadequate,” Timothy Geithner said today, promising to “fundamentally reshape” the government’s plan to rescue banks, driven by more forceful action. “We want their balance sheets cleaner and stronger,” Geithner said. To do it, he’...

Geithner Wins Tug-of-War for Hands-Off Bailout

Treasury secretary resists calls for firmer government intervention

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has prevailed over top administration officials who sought tougher restrictions on financial institutions in the revamped bailout plan to be unveiled today, reports the New York Times. Geithner, pointing to failures in countries that adopted more interventionist measures, successfully resisted calls to dictate how the cash...

Stocks Down on Bailout Delay
 Stocks Down on Bailout Delay 
MARKET Open
Feb 9, 2009 8:41 AM CST

Stocks Down on Bailout Delay

(Newser) - Stocks slid at the open, after Timothy Geithner pushed back the announcement of his much-anticipated bank rescue plan until tomorrow. The Dow dropped 40 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P barely budged, falling 0.6% and 0.4% each. But financial stocks actually rose, with Bank of America, Citigroup,...

New Bailout Plan Hinges on Private Investors

Treasury will set 'floor price' on distressed assets to lure buyers

(Newser) - The Treasury's latest plan to rescue the banking industry relies heavily on private-sector investors, the New York Times reports. The government will guarantee a floor price on the toxic assets weighing down banks’ balance sheets, encouraging hedge funds, private equity groups, and even insurers to buy them. The plan should...

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