Banks May Soon Get Approval to Leave the Bailout Program
Since the government pressed billions of dollars in taxpayer support on the nation’s banks, several strong institutions have been pushing to give it back. Now a few of them may get the go-ahead next week — a crucial step in disentangling themselves from Washington.If federal regulators approve the plans, it would pave the way for a group of large institutions, among them JPMorgan Chase, to leave the bailout program far earlier than many had envisioned.
It would also signal that the bankers and regulators believed that the worst was over for these banks, even though confidence in the broader financial industry remained fragile.JPMorgan Chase said on Monday that it expected to reimburse its $25 billion taxpayer investment this month. The bank plans to raise $5 billion of common stock on Tuesday to prove to regulators that it is healthy enough to obtain capital without government support. Goldman Sachs also said it aimed to repay $10 billion in bailout funds this month.
The Federal Reserve, which oversees the safety and soundness of the biggest banks, said it planned to announce next week an “initial set” of banks that were approved for repayment. The Treasury Department has the final say on whether a bank is allowed to repay the money, and once regulators sign off, the bank may return the money within days.The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was intended last fall as a long-term investment by the government to get the financial industry through the worst crisis since the Depression. But when compensation and other restrictions were attached to calm political furor over Wall Street bonuses, banks lobbied hard for permission to leave the program.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Administration Is Near Finance Overhaul Plan
WASHINGTON — Washington is asking some painful questions about how to prevent the next financial meltdown. Should it reinvent the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation? Abolish the seemingly feckless overseer of savings and loans? Grant new powers to the Federal Reserve? All that — and more — is on the table as the Obama administration prepares to overhaul the regulatory apparatus that failed to prevent the gravest economic crisis since the Depression. Under consideration is a new agency to regulate mortgages and credit cards, as well as tighter federal oversight of hedge funds and insurance. One possibility is creating a regulator to watch over companies that might put the financial system in peril again should they run into trouble.The plan, a central plank of the administration’s response to the current crisis, has already provoked a fierce lobbying battle by the various financial services industries that it could touch. The Treasury Department aims to complete the effort by mid-June, and senior Democrats in the House and Senate have vowed to complete legislation by the end of this year.
WASHINGTON — Washington is asking some painful questions about how to prevent the next financial meltdown. Should it reinvent the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation? Abolish the seemingly feckless overseer of savings and loans? Grant new powers to the Federal Reserve? All that — and more — is on the table as the Obama administration prepares to overhaul the regulatory apparatus that failed to prevent the gravest economic crisis since the Depression. Under consideration is a new agency to regulate mortgages and credit cards, as well as tighter federal oversight of hedge funds and insurance. One possibility is creating a regulator to watch over companies that might put the financial system in peril again should they run into trouble.The plan, a central plank of the administration’s response to the current crisis, has already provoked a fierce lobbying battle by the various financial services industries that it could touch. The Treasury Department aims to complete the effort by mid-June, and senior Democrats in the House and Senate have vowed to complete legislation by the end of this year.
Justices to Weigh Issue of Patenting Business Methods
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide what sorts of business methods might be patented, an issue with the potential to reshape significant parts of the economy.“This is the most important patent case in 50 years, in particular because there is so much damage and so much good the court could do,” said John F. Duffy, a law professor at George Washington University who submitted a brief in the appeals court in support of neither side.“The newest areas of technology are most threatened by the issues at stake here,” Professor Duffy said. “The court taking this is likely to make a lot of people nervous, including software manufacturers and biotechnology companies.”In October, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington significantly narrowed the processes eligible for patent protection, ruling that only those “tied to a particular machine or apparatus” or transforming “a particular article into a different state or thing” qualified.
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to decide what sorts of business methods might be patented, an issue with the potential to reshape significant parts of the economy.“This is the most important patent case in 50 years, in particular because there is so much damage and so much good the court could do,” said John F. Duffy, a law professor at George Washington University who submitted a brief in the appeals court in support of neither side.“The newest areas of technology are most threatened by the issues at stake here,” Professor Duffy said. “The court taking this is likely to make a lot of people nervous, including software manufacturers and biotechnology companies.”In October, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington significantly narrowed the processes eligible for patent protection, ruling that only those “tied to a particular machine or apparatus” or transforming “a particular article into a different state or thing” qualified.
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