Distressed Bonds to Become Close to Worthless?

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Treasury Seeks Authority to Buy Mortgages Unchecked by Courts

By Alison Fitzgerald and John Brinsley

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Bush administration sought unchecked power from Congress to buy $700 billion in bad mortgage investments from financial companies in what would be an unprecedented government intrusion into the markets.
Through his plan, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson aims to avert a credit freeze that would bring the financial system and the world's largest economy to a standstill. The bill would prevent courts from reviewing actions taken under its authority.
``He's asking for a huge amount of power,'' said Nouriel Roubini, an economist at New York University. ``He's saying, `Trust me, I'm going to do it right if you give me absolute control.' This is not a monarchy.''
As congressional aides and officials scrutinized the proposal, the Treasury late yesterday clarified the types of assets it would purchase. Paulson would have authority to buy home loans, mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage- related assets and, after consultation with the Federal Reserve chairman, ``other assets, as deemed necessary to effectively stabilize financial markets,'' the Treasury said in a statement.
The Treasury would also have discretion, after discussions with the Fed, to make non-U.S. financial institutions eligible under the program.
The plan would raise the ceiling on the national debt and spend as much as the combined annual budgets of the Departments of Defense, Education and Health and Human Services. Paulson is asking for the power to hire asset managers and award contracts to private companies. Most provisions of the proposal expire after two years from the date of enactment.
Schumer Warning
A failure by the government to support the U.S. financial system could lead to ``a depression,'' Senator Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat told reporters yesterday. ``To do nothing is to risk the kind of economic downturn this country hasn't seen in 60 years.''
The Treasury is seeking authority to step in as buyer of last resort for mortgage-linked assets that few other financial institutions in the world want to buy, following government takeovers of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and insurer American International Group Inc.
``Democrats will work with the administration to ensure that our response to events in the financial markets is swift,'' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a statement.
The majority party will seek to reduce mortgage foreclosures and create ``fast-track authority'' for an overhaul of financial regulation, Pelosi said. Democrats will ensure ``the government is accountable to the taxpayers in any future actions under this broad grant of authority, implementing strong oversight mechanisms.''
Executive Pay
The proposal will include curbs on executive pay for the companies whose assets the government will be buying, Steve Adamske, a spokesman for Representative Barney Frank, said yesterday in an interview.
Democrats also will include a plan to stem foreclosures, which may involve tapping the loan-modification abilities of the Federal Housing Administration, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., and Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, Adamske said. Frank, a Democrat from Massachusetts, is chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.
``The consequences of inaction could be catastrophic,'' Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in a statement.
``While the Bush proposal raises some serious issues, we need to resolve them quickly,'' he said. ``I am confident that, working together, we will.''
House minority leader John Boehner, an Ohio Republican, said yesterday he is reviewing the proposal but didn't say whether he was inclined to support it.
`Furious' Boehner

 

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``The American people are furious that we're in this situation, and so am I,'' Boehner said in a statement. ``We need to do everything possible to protect the taxpayers from the consequences of a broken Washington.''
Congress, which may pass legislation as soon as Sept. 26, needs to ``make sure there are protections built in for taxpayers,'' said Schumer, a New York Democrat on the banking committee. Lawmakers should ensure ``taxpayers who gave the money will be put ahead of the stockholders, bondholders and others.''
Paulson is seeking an expansion of federal influence over markets that hasn't been seen since the Great Depression, said Charles Geisst, author of ``100 Years of Wall Street'' and a finance professor at Manhattan College in New York.
Hoover Era
Geisst likened the plan to the Reconstruction Finance Corp., which was chartered by Herbert Hoover in 1932 with the goal of boosting economic activity by lending money after credit markets seized up.
President George W. Bush said he called leaders in both houses of Congress and ``found a common understanding of how severe the problem is and how necessary it is to get something done quickly.''
``This is going to be a big package because it's a big problem,'' Bush said following a meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe at the White House. ``We need to get this done quickly, and the cleaner the better.''
Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama said in a radio address that he ``fully supports'' Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke's efforts to stabilize the financial system. The plan, however, should benefit both main street and Wall Street, he said.
Republican Presidential nominee John McCain ``looks forward'' to reviewing the proposal while focusing at least in part on ``minimizing the burden on the taxpayer,'' said Jill Hazelbaker, communications director for the McCain campaign.
Ban Legal Challenges
The ban on legal challenges of actions by Treasury is ``distasteful, it's unfortunate and it's bad precedent, but this is an emergency and you have to act,'' said Jerry Markham, a law professor at Florida State University and author of ``A Financial History of the United States.''
``What you don't want happen is to have lawsuits that will slow things down and cause problems,'' he said.
The proposal would raise the nation's debt ceiling to $11.315 trillion from $10.615 trillion and require the Treasury secretary to report back to Congress three months after Treasury first uses its new powers, and then semiannually after that.
Paulson would gain discretion to act as he ``deems necessary'' to hire people, enter into contracts and issue regulations related to a revival of U.S. mortgage finance, according to a three-page proposal. The Treasury would ``take into consideration'' protecting taxpayers and promoting market stability.
Hiring Authority
The Treasury may hire managers to purchase the assets through so-called reverse auctions, seeking the lowest prices, Treasury said yesterday. The document specifies that Treasury may buy only assets issued or originated on or before Sept. 17.
The House will pass legislation to implement the plan by the end of this week, and the Senate will act soon after, Frank said on Sept. 19 in an interview on Bloomberg Television's ``Political Capital with Al Hunt.''
Bush said yesterday he's unconcerned that the price tag on the package may seem high.
``I'm sure there are some of my friends out there that are saying, `I thought this guy was a market guy, what happened to him?''' the president said. ``My first instinct was to let the market work, until I realized, while being briefed by the experts, how significant this problem became.''
The Bush administration seeks ``dictatorial power unreviewable by the third branch of government, the courts, to try to resolve the crisis,'' said Frank Razzano, a former assistant chief trial attorney at the Securities and Exchange Commission now at Pepper Hamilton LLP in Washington. ``We are taking a huge leap of faith.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Alison Fitzgerald in Washingtont ; John Brinsley in Washington at [email protected]
Last Updated: September 21, 2008 00:01 EDT

 

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<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>US drafts sweeping plan to mop up failed assets
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><TR>Bid to ease pressure on balance sheets of banks and other financial institutions </TR><!-- show image if available --><TR vAlign=bottom><TD width=330>

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The plan is designed as a comprehensive approach after a series of individual rescues failed to stem the crisis. -- REUTERS
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>




<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->New York - In an effort to bring stability to world financial markets, the United States government and Congress worked through the weekend on a sweeping plan that would mop up hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of troubled mortgage assets.
The Treasury is likely to run the programme, which would involve auctions where the government buys devalued assets, said House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank.
The plan, which will apply to US-based financial institutions seeking to sell mortgage assets, is designed as a comprehensive approach after a series of individual rescues failed to stem the crisis.
Details are still being hammered out but Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson gave an indication of its scale at a press conference last Friday.
'We're talking hundreds of billions. This needs to be big enough to make a real difference and get to the heart of the problem,' he said.
Options being considered include an US$800 billion (S$1.15 trillion) fund to buy so-called failed assets and a separate US$400 billion pool at Federal Deposit Insurance to insure investors in money-market funds, said sources briefed by congressional staff.
President George W. Bush said the plan will ease pressure on the balance sheets of banks and other financial institutions.
'There will be ample opportunity to debate the origins of this problem; now is the time to solve it,' he said in a statement at the White House last Friday.
Calling the current crisis a 'pivotal moment' for the nation's economy, he later lobbied House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, as well as top Republicans, for quick legislative action to stabilise financial markets.
Mr Frank said Congress will act quickly.
Meanwhile, the Treasury tapped all US$50 billion in the country's Exchange Stabilisation Fund to insure money-market mutual fund holdings, and the Federal Reserve expanded lending to commercial banks.
The measures were aimed at credit markets teetering on the edge of collapse as investors pulled a record US$89.2 billion from money-market funds last Wednesday.
The moves capped a week in which financial markets faced their most serious confluence of crises since the Great Depression in the 1930s, with national economies and the global banking system in jeopardy.
The latest rescue efforts sent stocks surging in the biggest two- day global rally in 38 years after a three-day slide last week wiped about US$1.9 trillion in market value from the MSCI World Index.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared another 3.4 per cent last Friday, capping its biggest two-day jump in six years. Conversely, US Treasuries - seen as 'safe haven' investments - plunged, sending two-year note yields up the most in 23 years.
But troubling issues remain.
While many on Wall Street cheered a ban on short-selling, options traders, who sell stock short to balance their trading positions, were caught off guard and warned that the measure could paralyse derivatives markets.
Some analysts have also voiced concerns about the US government's own balance sheet as it takes on yet more devalued assets after the seizures of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and American Insurance Group.
Reuters, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, AFP 10 faces who made the news >>Page 3