Treasury, Fed to Unveil Major Consumer Lending Program

[WillowTree]

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, seeking to ease strains in the consumer credit market, plans to announce Tuesday the formation of a program to increase the availability of auto loans, student loans and credit cards, according to people familiar with the matter.

The lending facility, which will be operated by the Federal Reserve, is expected to provide loans to investors who want to buy securities backed by credit cards, auto loans and student loans, these people said. Treasury will contribute between $25 billion to $100 billion to the facility from its $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The program is aimed at making it easier for consumers to borrow money. Government officials, including Mr. Paulson, have grown concerned about "distress" in the consumer finance market, as the availability of household loans has ground to halt amid a broader credit crunch.


FOXNews.com - Treasury, Fed to Unveil Major Consumer Lending Program - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News






We seen to be stamped with stupid.. I think.. So we got in this mess casue the banks were forced to loan us peoples money even when some of us did not have jobs, income, or assets.. so now the feds are setting up a program to make it easier to borrow more money we can't pay back!

 

[NOBama]

Take the money and RUN

 

[NOBama]

More seroiusly, if they want to jump start the market/economy like Paulson says, IE: "While the government had hoped to see banks lend that money out, that hasn't happened as quickly as they would have liked. Treasury is trying to find other ways to jump-start the market for lending."

They should simply modify the TARP Bill by adding a condition that says: Banks, if you don't start lending the money we provided for you to lend, GIVE IT BACK.

Thay need to put a stop to the banks controling how this unfolds.

 

[WillowTree]

My question is though,, since we are in this mess because of lending and not paying back,, ie,, living way beyond our means both as citizens and as a government, how is borrowing from China and forcing the banks to loan to lenders who may or may not pay it back gonna fix this??? I am way confused!

 

[Navy1960]

I have a better idea, if the whole idea here is to help people that are shall we say over extended, then rather than give them more credit. Why don't we just say here is is a check made out to your creditors in the amount of X, and once you cash it your account is closed. Credit card. etc. From that point it will be up to you Mr./Ms. consumer/business to do for yourselves. The Paulson approach of taking a big mud bucket of money and seeing what sticks is starting to get a little old. I sure hope people realize we are paying one credit card off with another and someday they other one is going to be due in a very very big way. I for one do not want to leverage my daughters future this way.

 

[NOBama]

I understand, but as long as the banks hold all the marbles, they control the game. Freakin' Paulson needs to leave this thing alone and let the new administration deal with it.

IMO, we need to restructure mortgage loans going into default, not encourage lending for stupid stuff like cars that don't meet our needs. Of the three things he mentions, student loans is the only one that makes any sense.

I guess Paulson would rather see millions of American famlies fail than to see the auto makers take the hit. Won't the end result be the same?

 

[DavidS]

The U.S. Federal Reserve, in another massive life-support intervention for the U.S. financial system, Tuesday announced a $600 billion program to buy mortgage-related debt and securities and a $200 billion facility to buy consumer debt securities. The U.S. central bank said it would buy up to $100 billion in debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, the government-sponsored mortgage finance enterprises.


The Fed also said it would buy up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.


So that's 1.4 trillion dollars being spent in just a matter of minutes. My god.

 

[editec]

Quit fucking around.

Stop importing crap from China and elsewhere.

that is the ROOT SOURCE of every economic problem we have, folks.

All they're doing is rearragning the decks chairs to make (some of ) us slightly more comfortable while the ship DOES DOWN.

 

[WillowTree]

I have a better idea, if the whole idea here is to help people that are shall we say over extended, then rather than give them more credit. Why don't we just say here is is a check made out to your creditors in the amount of X, and once you cash it your account is closed. Credit card. etc. From that point it will be up to you Mr./Ms. consumer/business to do for yourselves. The Paulson approach of taking a big mud bucket of money and seeing what sticks is starting to get a little old. I sure hope people realize we are paying one credit card off with another and someday they other one is going to be due in a very very big way. I for one do not want to leverage my daughters future this way.

exactly what I was trying to say, you said it so much better.. heard on the tv yesterday from a so called economist,, it will take thrirty years to pay down the present debt..

 

[NOBama]

The Fed also said it would buy up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.

That's exactly my point. Who is Paulson protecting by buying non-preforming mortgage-backed securities? Banks and/or Investors?

These institutions/investors made bad deals. They need to sit down at a table with the people they made these deals with and renegotiate. Opting out of the deal should not be an option, lowering the price of the deal should not be an option, the only option that should be on the table are the repayment terms of the deal. Lets face it, Congress (Barney Frank & friends), didn't exactly twist their arms to enter these deals, they just made it attractive. Greed did the rest.

The welfare of the many should not be at risk due to the greed of the few.

We should let everyone of the bastards fail. New companies will arise to replace them. America is not broke, the federal government is.

 

[Navy1960]

[/B]



exactly what I was trying to say, you said it so much better.. heard on the tv yesterday from a so called economist,, it will take thrirty years to pay down the present debt..

Willow, most people say, *yes* lets bailout this and that, but what they don't understand this government is not this unlimted source of money, in fact they borrow the money they use to bailout these companies and people and in some cases from foreign countries like China and each time they add to the debt. our children owe. If the money has been borrowed then so be it, but use it wisely and pay off the existing debt as they enter into Chapter 11. While it's important that some industries do not go out of business completely it is important that they stop doing business as usual and if Chapter 11 is the only way to put them onto a tread mill to get the fat off then that must be done. It is a dangerous path to walk down for our childrens sake to saddle them with so much debt that they will be at the mercy of other nations due to our greed.

 

[dilloduck]

The U.S. Federal Reserve, in another massive life-support intervention for the U.S. financial system, Tuesday announced a $600 billion program to buy mortgage-related debt and securities and a $200 billion facility to buy consumer debt securities. The U.S. central bank said it would buy up to $100 billion in debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Banks, the government-sponsored mortgage finance enterprises.


The Fed also said it would buy up to $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.


So that's 1.4 trillion dollars being spent in just a matter of minutes. My god.

and I assume the Federal Reserve is just going to take the loss ? 1.4 trillion dollars worth ?

 

[Mad Scientist]

That's exactly my point. Who is Paulson protecting by buying non-preforming mortgage-backed securities? Banks and/or Investors?
These institutions/investors made bad deals. They need to sit down at a table with the people they made these deals with and renegotiate. Opting out of the deal should not be an option, lowering the price of the deal should not be an option, the only option that should be on the table are the repayment terms of the deal. Lets face it, Congress (Barney Frank & friends), didn't exactly twist their arms to enter these deals, they just made it attractive. Greed did the rest.
The welfare of the many should not be at risk due to the greed of the few.
We should let everyone of the bastards fail. New companies will arise to replace them. America is not broke, the federal government is.

I used to think the same way. If you do some reading on the Great Depression you see that Herbert Hoover had the same "hands off" approach to the situation. He figured just as you do that companies will fail and others will form in their place but it just didn't happen. Banks were failing and no longer able to give loans for the start up businesses, and as a result the recession deepened. Herbert Hoover was actually known as a great humanitarian in the pre-depression days. There's some interesting reading there.

Anyway, as much as I hated the 700 billion stimulus plan at first, I'm now certain it was necessary and I think more bailouts will be needed in the coming months. The only question is when do we stop? I really don't know.
I think in February there's gonna' be another dip in the stock market when commercial real estate starts to tank. It has nothing to do with Obama but more to do with the lousy Christmas season most retailers are gonna' have. The quarterly reports come out in the end of January, begining of February and I'd bet they aren't gonna' look good. Big retailers are gonna' declare bankrupcy and/or ask for bailout money which may dwarf what we are seeing now.

What are some of the things us little guys can do? Start paying off as much of your debt as you can, credit cards first, autos and mortgages next. I wouldn't worry about student loans too much as those are normally very low interest. At least mine were.
So stop spending and start saving more. Go out to dinner and movies less, take local vacations. But unfortunately the very behavior that will insulate you from the coming recession will actually worsen it!

 

[Paulie]

My question is though,, since we are in this mess because of lending and not paying back,, ie,, living way beyond our means both as citizens and as a government, how is borrowing from China and forcing the banks to loan to lenders who may or may not pay it back gonna fix this??? I am way confused!

It won't. It will create another bubble, where the economy may prosper for a couple years while politicians get the heat taken off of them.

Kick the can a little farther down the road, and hope it becomes someone else's problem.

 

[user_name_guest]

Who invented credit? It's one of the worst devices ever invented. And who decided to switch our monetary system from gold to a piece of paper?

 

[Toro]

Who invented credit? It's one of the worst devices ever invented. And who decided to switch our monetary system from gold to a piece of paper?

Without credit, we'd still be stuck in the 13th century. No thank you.

But the numbers being tossed around are just staggering.

 

[user_name_guest]

Without credit, we'd still be stuck in the 13th century. No thank you.

But the numbers being tossed around are just staggering.

It's just a piece of paper they are tossing around. Of course there is valuation involved. And banks wouldn't have problem lending a piece of paper. If it were gold, they would be stringent.

History always repeat itself. How many credit crises do we need to finally cure us of all potential problems in the future?

 

[dilloduck]

It's just a piece of paper they are tossing around. Of course there is valuation involved. And banks wouldn't have problem lending a piece of paper. If it were gold, they would be stringent.

History always repeat itself. How many credit crises do we need to finally cure us of all potential problems in the future?

Whole industries make money by lending money. Just make collecting interest illegal.

 

[user_name_guest]

Whole industries make money by lending money. Just make collecting interest illegal.

The damn time value of money. How can they make a person make $$$ off interest without any labor. Now i see why people at the Country Club play golf all day. They just have their money sitting somewhere in a gold mine where these folks take a stone in return for a promise to pay back two stones later. How many use credit institutions in order to operate a business or live in a home?

 

[dilloduck]

the Damn Time Value Of Money. How Can They Make A Person Make $$$ Off Interest Without Any Labor. Now I See Why People At The Country Club Play Golf All Day. They Just Have Their Money Sitting Someone Where In The Mine Where These Folks Take A Stone In Return For A Promise To Pay Back Two Stones.

Bingo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!