Planet Money
 
 

Citigroup's Rescue Mashup

Is it just me, or is the rescue plan for Citigroup essentially a case of Plan A meets Plan B, then bails out major financial institution?

The rescue package calls for regulators to back $306 billion in risky assets on Citigroup's balance sheet -- an amount not quite half of the original $700 billion Congress approved for buying up toxic mortgage-backed securities. Let's call that Plan A, or at least a rather loud echo of it.

As you know from hanging out on Planet Money, government leaders soon decided to set aside the idea of buying toxic assets in favor of injecting capital directly into banks. Let's call this move to buy stock in banks Plan B.

Now look again at the Citigroup rescue. In addition to backing those $306 billion in risky assets, the federal government will buy $20 billion worth of preferred shares in Citigroup -- to go with an earlier capital injection of $25 billion.

Seriously, I'm seeing shades of Plan A and Plan B, rolled into one. You?

comments | |

 

Comments

View all comments »

Add a Comment

Please note that all comments must adhere to the NPR.org discussion rules and terms of use. See also the Community FAQ.

NPR reserves the right to read on the air and/or publish on its Web site or in any medium now known or unknown the e-mails and letters that we receive. We may edit them for clarity or brevity and identify authors by name and location. For additional information, please consult our Terms of Use.



   
   
   
null


 

About Planet Money

Planet Money is a multimedia team covering the global economy. You can follow us on this blog and on Twitter. You can also e-mail us directly and/or join our Facebook group. For more information, see our Frequently Asked Questions and rules for discussion.

 
 

Get the Podcast

NPR PodcastsLost in a galaxy of economic news? Listen to the Planet Money podcast.



» Get the Podcast

 
 
Adam Davidson

Adam Davidson

Correspondent

 
David Kestenbaum

David Kestenbaum

Correspondent

 
David Kestenbaum

Chana Joffe-Walt

Correspondent

 
Laura Conaway

Laura Conaway

Editor

 
Caitlin Kenney

Caitlin Kenney

Assistant Producer

 
Alex Blumberg

Alex Blumberg

Contributing Editor

 
 
 

 
 

Related News Feeds

 
 

Search 'Planet Money'

Search for the word(s):
 
 

Get in touch:

Want to send us a note? Go for it.

 
 
 

Browse Topics

Services

Programs