Quote:
Originally Posted by competentone
The bailout package would involve the government permanently removing selected debt off the balance sheets of financial institutions -- sort of like if you, on a personal level, had run a credit card to the limit, then the credit card company said, "Don't worry, you don't have to pay that money back anymore."
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That analogy is misleading and inaccurate.
The govt proposes to buy illiquid
assets (not debt - these assets are mortgages and mortgage-backed securities) from the banks. The govt is not going to simply hand the banks free money for nothing, or to forgive their debts. (The govt will also take equity warrants in the banks.)
The illiquid assets have value. The exact value won't be known until this all plays out and we see where US house prices go and what percent of Americans have been foreclosed on. The govt will eventually resell those assets, so the net cost of the plan will be $700BN minus whatever the assets are resold for.