Government Moves to Shore Up Banking System

The Washington Post reports:

The federal government will ease the terms of its investments in more than 350 financial institutions to increase the benefit of the taxpayer dollars while reducing the cost to the banks, regulators announced this morning.

The change also applies to new investments, and regulators said they will begin Wednesday to test the health of the nation's largest banks to determine how much more government money those banks may need to weather the crisis.

"The government will ensure that banks have the capital and liquidity they need to provide the credit necessary to restore economic growth," said a joint statement issued by the Treasury Department, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision and the Federal Reserve. The change in the investment terms was sought by Citigroup and other banks that are trying to convince investors they can survive their financial problems.

A socialist happening.