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• Wreck of IndyMac Sold for $13.9B

  Jan 3, 09 8:41 AM CST
  A team of high-profile investors has bought the remains of failed bank IndyMac from the FDIC for $13.9 billion, the Wall Street Journal reports. The investors, including George Soros and computer tycoon Michael Dell, have agreed to share the losses from IndyMac's portfolio of troubled mortgages in a deal expected to cost the FDIC around $9 billion.
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• AIG Looks for $10B More to Pay Bad Bets

  Dec 10, 08 7:53 AM CST
  Insurance giant AIG, already the recipient of a $150 billion government bailout to cover soured credit-default swaps, now admits it owes some $10 billion more for speculative trades it made with its own money, reports the Wall Street Journal. Those deals aren’t covered by the bailout, leaving the struggling insurer looking for ways to cover its losses. More »

• FDIC Pushes Plan to Ease Mortgage Payments

  Nov 14, 08 8:42 AM CST
  Officials at the FDIC are butting heads with the Bush administration over the bailout once again, yesterday outlining a plan to prevent 1.5 million foreclosures in the coming year by having banks sharply reduce monthly payments on mortgages, the Washington Post reports. The government would guarantee half the losses should the banks lose money on modified loans, costing an estimated $24.4 billion to the government.
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• Freddie Posts Record $25.3B Loss; Taps $13B Infusion

  Nov 14, 08 8:35 AM CST
  Freddie Mac, the swamped mortgage giant seized by the government two months ago, asked for $13.8 billion from the Treasury today after a record quarterly loss plunged its net worth into the negative, Bloomberg reports. Sister company Fannie Mae, also under government control, said this week it might need funds beyond the $100 billion previously earmarked for each of the firms before the end of the year.
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• US Pushes Banks for More Lending, Less Spending

  Nov 11, 08 12:07 PM CST
  Officials from several US banking regulators are finalizing guidelines for financial firms that will encourage them to lend more and curb executive pay, the Washington Post reports. The Treasury is taking $250 billion in equity stakes in various financial firms, but critics complain the firms are passing the taxpayer money along as shareholder dividends, paying top officers, or acquiring rivals rather than lending the money as intended.
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