Low Ebb Haiku–Bank Failures Mount, FDIC Reachers Deeper
Where economics and housing analytics rise to an artform, on Calculated Risk, he offered this fillip on Friday after learning of the failure of bank #17, Freedom Bank of Georgia, Commerce, Georgia.
Ah, seventeen! The CR Commentariat gets a hold of that number, and naturally, the conversation elevates to this contribution from a reader called “Soylent Green Is People.”
Friday: Freedom failed.
Cost Today: Thirty Six Mil.
Upward Soars Our Tab.
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports:
Click on image for access to WSJ article.
Legislation, introduced late Thursday by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, would temporarily allow the FDIC to borrow $500 billion to replenish the fund it uses to guarantee bank deposits, if the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department concur. Those funds would be distinct from the contentious $700 billion financial-sector bailout, which lawmakers are loathe to expand….The bill was championed by FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. In a Feb. 2 letter to Mr. Dodd, Mr. Geithner said he supported a move as it would allow the government to respond to “exigent circumstances.” Mr. Bernanke sent Mr. Dodd a similar letter the same day, suggesting a coordinated effort was at work.One difference between the FDIC’s insurance fund and the TARP is that any money the FDIC borrows from the Treasury would likely have to be repaid through assessments levied on banks rather than on taxpayers. The FDIC finances its fund through bank fees. Many struggling banks argue that the government should ease up on fees until the credit crisis abates.
Now, haiku that.
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