Henry Paulson

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June 2009
- Feds Put 'Gun to Head' of BofA's Lewis on Merger
  
  Politico | Jun 10, 09 11:32 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson may have leaned on Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis too heavily last year when he tried to back out of a deal to acquire Merrill Lynch, say congressional investigators. In fact, a GOP briefing document says the two Bush officals "put a gun to the head" of Lewis "in order to force through a merger, even though (Lewis) felt it was his duty to his shareholders to try his luck in the legal system and back out of the deal,” Politico reports. Lewis appears before a House panel today. More »
April 2009
- 20 Crime Probes Launched Into Bailout Fraud
  
  Los Angeles Times | Apr 21, 09 6:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Federal authorities have begun 20 separate investigations into possible fraud, tax violations, insider trading, and other criminal activities surrounding Henry Paulson's $750 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, reports the Los Angeles Times . It's only the first round of probes, according to the bailout program's inspector general, who called TARP "inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse." More »
- Goldman Back on Top, Thanks to Uncle Sam
  
  New York Times | Apr 15, 09 8:15 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Goldman Sachs reported a $1.8 billion profit yesterday, and it owes it all to its helpful Uncle Sam, writes William Cohan in the New York Times. “Government Sachs,” as it’s come to be known, has been pulling Washington’s strings for years, and now its competitors are all dead or in ruins—thanks largely to former CEO Hank Paulson, who played a key role in the fall of Bear Sterns and Lehman Brothers, and the Merrill Lynch buyout. More »
February 2009
- Missing, Not Missed: CEOs in Obama Cabinet
  
  Politico | Feb 20, 09 10:02 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - To the multitude of differences between the Obama administration and its predecessors, add the absence of corporate CEOs from Cabinet meetings. The reason is simple, reports Politico: There aren't any. Recent Wall Street-to-Washington catastrophes such as the Bush Treasury Department aren't the only reason, either. "Obama’s more academic, intellectual and political," an exec at the conservative Heritage Foundation says of the president. "He comes from a whole different tradition." More »
- Panel: Paulson Overpaid for Bank Stocks
  
  Washington Post | Feb 6, 09 11:29 AM CST
  
  (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 not do what it said it was doing,” the chairwoman of the panel told Congress yesterday. More »
January 2009
- Banks Relish Public Funds, Won't Loan to Public
  
  New York Times | Jan 18, 09 7:35 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Banks are enjoying a public bailout of billions of dollars, but they're not using the funds the way the way they were intended—to loan money to kickstart the economy, reports the New York Times . Banks are using the bucks to pay off debts and, in some cases, acquire companies. “Make more loans?” asked one incredulous bank president. “We’re not going to change our business model to accommodate the needs of the public sector." More »
- 'Bad Bank' for Toxic Assets Among Feds' TARP Options
  
  Bloomberg | Jan 16, 09 2:12 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Support is growing for the latest proposed use of bailout funds: a federally sponsored “bad bank” to purchase toxic assets from troubled financial institutions, Bloomberg reports. “A lot of work has been done on an aggregator bank,” Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said today; FDIC chief Sheila Bair recently said the idea has “merit.” More »
- Report Rips TARP Strategy (or Lack Thereof)
  
  Wall Street Journal | Jan 9, 09 9:25 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - So much for transparency. A blistering draft report being issued by a congressional oversight panel today says Treasury has failed to reveal its strategy for stabilizing the financial system and failed to answer questions asked by the watchdog group, the Wall Street Journal reports. But worse still, it’s done nothing to help struggling homeowners trapped under mortgages that are worth more than their homes. More »
- Geithner Overhauls Bailout to Aid Homeowners, Small Biz
  
  Washington Post | Jan 9, 09 6:08 AM CST
  
  (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 the bailout, the Washington Post reports. The new approach will be laid out publicly before Geithner's confirmation hearing next week. More »
December 2008
- Paulson Wants Next $350B, But Bush May Not Ask for It
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 19, 08 11:00 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson called today for Congress to release the second half of the $700 billion bailout fund, but his plea isn’t being echoed at the White House—which would have to make the formal request, the Wall Street Journal reports. “It’s not necessarily true that this administration, in the remaining 31 days, I believe, will go back to Congress,” an aide to President Bush said. More »
- Feds Let Lehman Fail—Then Loaned It $138B Anyway
  
  New York Times | Dec 16, 08 9:20 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - After refusing to bail out Lehman Brothers, the Federal Reserve funneled $87 billion to a subsidiary through JPMorgan Chase on Sept. 15, then another $51 billion the next day. The feds say they aimed to “facilitate an orderly wind-down” of Lehman’s broker-dealer operations, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in the New York Times , but their changing explanations, and other issues, continue to muddy the waters. More »
- Fed Looks to Raise Cash With Its Own Debt Issue
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 10, 08 7:32 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet has more than doubled to $2 trillion since August as it’s financed new programs and bailed out ailing businesses, prompting the central bank to weigh issuing its own debt for the first time, reports the Wall Street Journal. The Fed, looking for new tools to address the crisis, already has begun talks with Congress. More »
- Bailout Turns to Shore Up Credit Unions
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 9, 08 10:39 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Largely overlooked by federal regulators managing the bailout, credit unions will receive $41 billion in lending to brace a handful of the largest institutions in a plan expected to be announced this week, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plan is intended to bring relief to as many as 10,000 homeowners by cutting mortgage rates, as well as to stabilize lending between retail credit unions and so-called corporates. More »
- Obama, Paulson at Stalemate on Bailout Funds
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 4, 08 10:30 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The incoming administration and the outgoing Treasury Department are at a standoff over the second half of the $700 billion bailout, reports the Wall Street Journal . Whether Barack Obama is reluctant to overstep or wary of being associated with Bush administration policies isn't clear, but the Journal reports that unidentified "Treasury officials have grown frustrated with the Obama transition team's unwillingness to engage in specifics." More »
- Paulson May Hit Congress for 2nd $350B Next Week
  
  Wall Street Journal | Dec 3, 08 8:17 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Further erosion of the economy may send Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson back to Congress for the second half of the $700 billion federal bailout next week, reports the Wall Street Journal. But skepticism over how the initial $350 billion is being administered, conflicting views on how to best use the fund, and concern about oversight may make it an uncomfortable trip. More »
November 2008
- Private Student Loan Providers Draw Fire
  
  Washington Post | Nov 28, 08 3:20 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Private student lenders deserve no part of the Treasury’s $200 billion consumer lending program, student advocacy groups say. They charge that the largely unregulated industry preys on young borrowers with risky variable-interest loans, the Washington Post reports. “A bailout for the providers of usurious private student loans will not solve the college affordability crisis,” said the heads of nine groups, including the publishers of Consumer Reports , in a letter to Hank Paulson. More »
- Low Staffing Strains Feds' Rescue Plan
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 28, 08 12:55 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - The government’s economic rescue plan continues to be hampered by an understaffed Treasury Department, the Wall Street Journal reports. With 40 employees, the Office of Financial Stability—which manages TARP—says it has about half the staff it needs, and banking regulators say there’s a big backlog of relief applications. Many decisions are being left to interim staff as the department struggles to find permanent hires. More »
- Fed Launches $800B Programs to Unlock Lending
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 25, 08 7:35 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The Fed today unveiled a new $200 billion lending facility designed to thaw the freeze in consumer credit, the Wall Street Journal reports. The facility will lend to investors who want to buy securities backed by credit cards, auto loans, student loans, and loans to small businesses. The Fed also committed to buying up to $600 billion in debt issued by housing lenders. More »
- Politically, Geithner's a Mystery
  
  Politico | Nov 24, 08 12:10 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - As the head of the New York Fed, Timothy Geithner is a known quantity in certain circles. But as he starts the process of taking the helm at the Treasury Department, the officials who will vote on his confirmation know surprisingly little about him, reports Politico. “I always worry about somebody who has spent his whole life at the Federal Reserve,” says an influential union president. “I just don't know him.” More »
- Obama Stimulus Plan Balloons to $500B
  
  Wall Street Journal | Nov 24, 08 10:50 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Barack Obama’s financial team is constructing a $500 billion stimulus plan that it hopes to rush through Congress early in 2009, the Wall Street Journal reports. Obama would sign the bill, which is far more ambitious than anything discussed during the campaign, almost immediately after his inauguration. “This is an extraordinary time,” an aide said, “and extraordinary responses are needed.” More »