Functioning Banks, Fair Deal for Taxpayer Dollars Should Be Treasury Goal
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Yesterday, as the U.S. Senate was debating the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—the Obama administration’s first major initiative to aid the economy—Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was outlining the White House’s battle plan to put the nation’s banks and financial institutions back on course.
While many of the details remain to be worked out, the financial rescue package aims at several major goals:
- Help banks cleanse their holdings of “toxic” assets to get private lending up and running again.
- Prop up banks’ capital position to generate a higher level of lending.
- Boost consumer and business lending to get credit flowing again.
- Stop preventable foreclosures and make housing more affordable by lowering interest rates.
- Monitor and make public financial institutions’ use of government-provided public funds and ensure that taxpayer money isn’t wasted.
