Treasury Department

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Bailed-Out Banks Cut Lending
 Bailed-Out Banks Cut Lending 
Feb 18, 2009 3:15 AM CST

Bailed-Out Banks Cut Lending

Report finds that bailout funds have failed to jolt banks into boosting lending

(Newser) - The 20 largest banks that received billions in  US government rescue funds slightly reduced their lending to consumers and businesses in the last quarter of 2008, the government said yesterday. Banks cut their mortgage and business loans by a median of 1% each, while credit card lending rose by a...

Last-Minute Switch Doomed Geithner Speech
Last-Minute Switch Doomed Geithner Speech
ANALYSIS
Feb 17, 2009 9:47 AM CST

Last-Minute Switch Doomed Geithner Speech

Old plan went bad, new one wasn't ready; he had to stay vague

(Newser) - Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner was supposed to ride in on a white steed and save our financial system—only as he made his charge, the would-be knight got thrown from his horse and landed with a thud. Now the Washington Post reports that Geithner changed course only days before rolling...

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...

Brutal Day Puts Geithner on the Defensive
Brutal Day Puts Geithner
on the Defensive
analysis
Feb 10, 2009 8:49 PM CST

Brutal Day Puts Geithner on the Defensive

(Newser) - It's safe to say the honeymoon's over for Tim Geithner. The Treasury chief—whose very appointment way back when gave the market a lift—spent all day on the defensive after unveiling the administration's economic plan, writes Emily Kaiser of Reuters. Wall Street tanked, interviewers dogged him with questions about...

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...

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...

Geithner Delays Bank Bailout Until Tuesday

Treasury Department focuses on pushing stimulus through Congress

(Newser) - The Treasury Department will wait until Tuesday to unveil the next bank bailout while lawmakers and President Obama debate their multibillion-dollar stimulus plan, the New York Times reports. “With record high job losses, and weakening economic forecasts, we’re focused on working with Congress to pass an economic recovery...

Panel: Paulson Overpaid for Bank Stocks

Treasury spent $254B for a $176B value, Congress learns

(Newser) - Henry Paulson overpaid for the preferred stock he bought from banks with TARP funds, after promising Congress he wouldn’t, a congressional oversight panel says. The government handed banks $254 billion in exchange for stock that was then worth just $176 billion, the Washington Post reports. “Treasury simply did...

Bailout Firms Lobbied Big Time for TARP Funds

Spending on charities, sponsored meetings topped $330,000

(Newser) - Several of the firms who would receive taxpayer funds from the TARP bailout spent money on meetings and charitable gifts that benefited lawmakers, the Hill reports. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for example, donated $330,000 in the last 6 months of 2008 to politically affiliated charities. Bank of America,...

Obama: $18B in Wall Street Bonuses 'Shameful'

President says he, Geithner will press executives on issue

(Newser) - President Obama denounced huge bonuses to Wall Street executives as “the height of irresponsibility” given the country’s economic hardship, the AP reports. Responding to news that financial firms paid out $18 billion in bonuses last year, Obama described the firms’ actions as “shameful” and vowed that he...

Team Obama Nixes Citi's Private Jet Buy

Treasury tells bailed-out bank to ditch $50M plane

(Newser) - Hours after the New York Post trumpeted Citigroup's plan to go through with the purchase of $50 million, French-made private jet yesterday, Citigroup got a call from Treasury telling the bank to think again. The Obama administration has made a lot of noise about enforcing accountability on bailout funds, Politico...

Big Banks' Lending Drops Despite Bailout Cash
Big Banks' Lending Drops
Despite Bailout Cash
ANALYSIS
Jan 26, 2009 10:23 AM CST

Big Banks' Lending Drops Despite Bailout Cash

Banks say funds can't go straight to loans, and recession cuts down on would-be borrowers

(Newser) - Lending is down at some of the biggest beneficiaries of the $148 billion the Treasury hoped would get US banks lending again, the Wall Street Journal reports. Of 13 banks to receive major government backing, 10 saw a decline in their outstanding loan balances between the third and fourth quarters...

Geithner Sorry, Blames TurboTax
 Geithner 
 Sorry, 
 Blames 
 TurboTax 

UPDATED
Jan 21, 2009 10:50 AM CST

Geithner Sorry, Blames TurboTax

Treasury nominee, at confirmation hearings, apologizes for tax missteps

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner apologized for failing to pay $34,000 in taxes today in his Senate confirmation hearing. “I should have been more careful,” the would-be Treasury secretary said, calling them careless, avoidable mistakes. When asked how he prepared the taxes he replied, “I will answer that, but...

Obama Team Warns: No Magic Wand for Banks

Geithner will testify without a plan, take time to get it right

(Newser) - While the world watched Barack Obama take the oath of office yesterday, on Wall Street shares in the big banks plummeted as much as 29% as the markets took the worst pounding in inaugural history. Yet when Tim Geithner appears before a Senate committee today, the incoming Treasury secretary will...

Chrysler's Loan Arm Gets $1.5B Federal Loan

Attempt to unfreeze auto-loan market is on top of $17B coming to Detroit from TARP

(Newser) - The Treasury Department will lend Chrysler’s financing arm $1.5 billion to encourage the struggling auto-loan market, the Washington Post reports today. The 5-year loan comes at an interest rate of about 1.36%, and carries limits on executive compensation: Chrysler Financial will have to cut its bonus pool...

Mortgage Rates Plunge to Lowest Ever

But plunging house values make refinancing impossible for many homeowners

(Newser) - The benchmark 30-year mortgage interest rate has fallen below 5% for the first time ever as the collapsing economy continues to force interest rates down. Adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 5.25%, reports MarketWatch. But many homeowners can't take advantage of the new low rates to refinance because the value of...

GOP Still on Board With Geithner Despite Tax Errors

Treasury nominee 'going to be just fine' with bigger problems he'll be facing

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner’s tax mistakes are minor compared with how much he could contribute as Treasury secretary, Republican leaders say. “I don’t think we can get a better person for this position,” Senate Finance Committee No. 2 Orrin Hatch told the Washington Post. Geithner’s errors include...

Senate Delays Hearing on Geithner
Senate Delays Hearing on Geithner
Jan 14, 2009 11:08 AM CST

Senate Delays Hearing on Geithner

Troubled Treasury bid must wait until after Inauguration

(Newser) - The incoming administration's attempt to fast-track Tim Geithner's confirmation hearing has failed in the wake of trouble with his personal finances, and the session will now take place on Jan. 21, the New York Times reports. The delay of the Senate hearing until after the Inauguration, motivated by Republican lawmakers'...

Geithner Overhauls Bailout to Aid Homeowners, Small Biz

Obama team wants to cover homeowners, small business

(Newser) - The incoming Treasury secretary, Tim Geithner, is conducting a top-to-bottom overhaul of the $700 billion financial rescue program passed by a skeptical Congress last fall. Geithner and other Obama advisers will expand the program to cover small businesses, municipalities, and even homeowners before asking Congress for the second tranche of...

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