federal reserve

Since the Wall Street bailout was signed into law last October, critics of the strategy have often been met with a central reassurance from leaders of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve: The taxpayer-funded rescue, these officials have said, is not a bailout at all, but an investment that could very well return the [...]

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is testifying this morning before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about his role in catalyzing Bank of America’s controversial December buyout of Merrill Lynch.
The saga made headlines this spring when former BoA CEO Ken Lewis told New York’s attorney general that he was reluctant to go through with [...]

It’s not that difficult to understand why everyone would be ready to sound the alarm on inflation. The government has been borrowing heavily and the Federal Reserve has been massively expanding its balance sheet and holding its interest rate target at very near zero. In ordinary times, this combination would send prices soaring. And while [...]

As the Wall Street bailout nears its first anniversary, a risky aspect of the financial rescue has flown largely under the radar.

The Washington Post, this morning:
Senior administration officials are considering the creation of a single agency to regulate the banking industry, replacing a patchwork of agencies that failed to prevent banks from falling into the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, sources said.
Bloomberg, today:
House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank ruled out creating a single [...]

There are plenty of noteworthy quotes in the Peter Baker piece on former President Bill Clinton in The New York Times Magazine, and the published interview transcript that accompanies it. So far, this strikes me as the noteworthiest; while addressing criticisms of his administration in light of recent financial failures, Clinton said:
Then there’s the argument [...]

The headlines about stress tests released Thursday seemed sort of reassuring, after all the concern about the banking system going under. Ten banks need more capital but the others are safe. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke made a point of declaring that none are insolvent. Everyone should breathe easier.
But in the financial blogosphere, many aren’t [...]

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) is among the House members taking notes from Paul’s hand-picked speakers.

The Wall Street Journal reports today that Citigroup and Bank of America may need to raise more capital, based on recent government stress tests of financial institutions. The identities of troubled banks were supposed to remain confidential, but The Journal cites the usual “people familiar with the situation.” Regulators contend the need for Citi and [...]

Some of the nation’s 19 largest banks have substantially reduced capital as a result of the recession and the mortgage crisis, the Federal Reserve’s stress tests show, according to Bloomberg. At the same time, most banks have more than enough reserves on hand to cover any potential losses, the Fed’s paper describing the stress tests [...]