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...crucial feature of any British plan: revenue from the tax would be funneled directly into state coffers - remember that $250 billion deficit - and not into an insurance fund to be tapped in the event of any future catastrophe. Such a pool, the U.K. reckons, could simply encourage banks to behave recklessly, safe in the knowledge they'd be covered for any damage. Germany's proposal is different. Having had to nationalize or buy stakes in a string of beleaguered banks since the crisis began, the German government wants to pass the bill for future bailouts to the banks themselves. Lenders...
...amount such a levy would raise is unclear. If the Germans use the U.S. plan - which calls for a tax of 0.15% on liabilities at about 50 banks and other financial institutions - Germany could raise as much as $12 billion a year. Would that be enough to protect banks in the case of another meltdown? Of course, proper government and regulatory scrutiny can guard against a repeat of the recent crisis. But in the event of a disaster on a similar scale, "you're never going to get a fund big enough to cover all that," says Simon Maughan...
Reaction is mixed to President Obama's plan to prevent up to 4 million homeowners whose mortgages are underwater from defaulting on their loans over the next three years...
Under the new plan, unveiled Friday, March 26, banks will be asked to lower the principal loan balance for certain homeowners whose mortgages exceed the value of their homes. The loans would be refinanced as mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), fully backed by the government. In the past, loan modifications under the $50 billion federal Home Modification Program (HAMP) involved primarily reducing interest rates or lengthening the term of the mortgage, and most did not entail a government guarantee. (See high-end homes that won't sell...
Initial reactions to the plan are mixed. Bob Curran, managing director of Fitch Ratings, calls it a step in the right direction. He says principal reductions will likely be more effective in modifying loans than past efforts that involved only interest-rate cuts and extensions of loan terms. "The loan-modification effort has not been very successful to this point in time," he says. However, he believes that only a small fraction of troubled homeowners will qualify for the program. "It will probably help some additional portion of the public, but I'm not sure it's enough to make...