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Fort Worth Business Press – The rescue of the American financial system proposed by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is, in all but name, a gigantic hedge fund. The government would lend vast sums to private investors to enable them to buy loss-ridden assets at discounts from banks with the prospect of making sizable profits. If that’s not a hedge fund, what would be? The hope is that the $14 trillion U.S. banking system would expand lending if it could get rid of many of the lousy securities and loans already on its books.
Almost everyone thinks a healthier banking system is necessary for a sustained economic recovery. Can the Geithner plan work?
MSNBC – Hedge funds are being offered a sweet deal to help the Obama administration rescue the U.S. banking system: A low-risk opportunity to scoop up soured bank assets that could one day make them a killing.
But the deal could make for an uneasy partnership.
The government also wants to closely police hedge funds, some of which have been accused of placing irresponsible bets that helped trigger the financial crisis. Such regulatory overhaul could reshape an industry known for secrecy and little oversight.
Denver Post – Hedge funds are being offered a deal to help the feds rescue the banking system: A low-risk opportunity to buy bad bank assets that could one day make them a killing.
But the deal could make for an uneasy partnership. The government also wants to closely police hedge funds — large investment pools that cater mainly to the rich — some of which have been accused of placing irresponsible bets that helped trigger the financial crisis. Such regulatory overhaul could reshape an industry known for secrecy and little oversight.
Houston Chronicle – Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner will ask Congress to bring large hedge funds, private-equity firms and derivatives markets under federal supervision for the first time as part of a revamp of U.S. financial rules.
The Treasury chief will present his proposed framework at a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington today. Under the new so-called rules of the road, the government would get powers to seize and wind down any financial company big enough to destabilize the banking system.
The Obama administration is counting on public anger over the taxpayer-financed rescues of American International Group Inc., Bear Stearns Cos. and other firms to help it win approval for the changes, which could be the most sweeping since the 1930s. Policy makers want to improve the oversight of the financial system now rather than wait until the crisis is over, administration officials said on condition of anonymity.
West Palm Beach (HedgeCo.net) – “We welcome the publication of the Turner Review, which is an impressive and comprehensive piece of work." Andrew Baker, Chief Executive of The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA), said, "It is about the banking system’s role in the current financial crisis and as such its principal focus is the banks, not the hedge fund industry. We are grateful to Lord Turner for his even-handed and measured approach and for not making hedge funds the scapegoat for this crisis."
"The Review says that regulators and central banks need to gather better macro-prudential information on hedge fund activities and we completely support this – in fact we called, in our new policy platform of the 24th February, for the disclosure of systemically significant information by hedge fund managers to their national regulators (not all assets are managed in a collective fund structure). We also called for a global manager authorisation and supervision template on the FSA model. AIMA took the lead on behalf of the hedge fund industry globally in these respects.
We are glad that the Review points out that hedge fund leverage “is typically well below that of banks – about two to three on average” compared with levels of up to 50 times with some of the banks; and that “hedge funds in general are not today bank-like in their activities”.
Given those qualifications, we do appreciate why in the interests of financial stability the Review says that regulators need the power to apply appropriate prudential regulation to hedge funds if they judge that their activities have become bank-like in importance.
We note that any such regulation is hypothetical at present (the Review talks of “if it ever did become appropriate” to do this) and we are glad that Lord Turner has stressed that any regulation in this respect should focus on economic substance not legal form.”
AIMA has more than 1,200 corporate members worldwide, based in 43 countries.
Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting firms and fund administrators. They all benefit from AIMA’s active influence in policy development, its leadership in industry initiatives, including education and sound practice manuals and its excellent reputation with regulators worldwide.
Times Online – Secretive hedge funds will eventually be subject to the same supervisory rules as banks, under a tightening of Britain’s system of regulation.
The changes, which will require banks and other lenders to build up their reserves in healthy economic times, could become the basis for international efforts to overhaul regulation at the G20 summit in London on April 2. The moves will be proposed on Wednesday in a report by Lord Turner of Ecchinswell, chairman of the Financial Services Authority, who will call for an overhaul of the tripartite links between the FSA, the Bank of England and the Treasury.
They follow repeated pledges from Gordon Brown for a crackdown on the “shadow banking system”.
Financial Times – The US Federal Reserve will launch its financing programme, worth up to $1,000bn, for consumer and business loans in the coming days, amid concerns that hedge funds might find it difficult to take advantage of the scheme.
The programme – the term asset-backed securities loan facility (Talf) – is the cornerstone of the US authorities’ push to jump-start the credit market. Officials at the central bank say it will be up and running by the end of this month.
Fed and Treasury officials say this is an essential complement to efforts to repair the banking system. The idea is to boost the supply of new credit-card loans, student loans and car loans by providing low-cost finance to investors who buy these loans bundled up as securities in the secondary market.
But the Talf relies on private-sector investors being willing and able to take advantage of the financing the Fed makes available.
Consultations have revealed potential obstacles to participation. The most significant of these are limits on the ability of investors who use Talf finance to buy an asset to transfer the loan when they sell it.
An asset sold with low-cost three-year financing attached would command a higher price than an asset that had to be financed in distressed private markets at the point of sale.
Moreover, most hedge funds do not have permanent capital so they have to consider the risk that redemptions could force them to sell the assets before the three years are up.
New York (HedgeCo.Net) – Obama used his time in front of Congress last night to present a “blueprint for our future,” with a specialized focus on health care, education and energy. But there was plenty of time for talk on the financial crisis, saying we have come to a “reckoning” after years of poor decision making and lax regulation.
"A surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future," the President said. “People bought homes they knew they couldn’t afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day."
Obama added, “I know how unpopular it is to be seen as helping banks right now, especially when everyone is suffering in part from their bad decisions. I promise you, I get it."
Obama said while he is in favor of lending a hand to large banks when needed, those institutions will be held accountable for how that money is spent. He also said he plans on launching new lending programs that will provide funding for college, small business and car loans.
Touching on the anger regarding CEO payouts and bonuses, Obama put to rest any further issues saying, “CEOs won’t be able to use taxpayer money to pad their paychecks or buy fancy drapes or disappear on a private jet. Those days are over."
Obama also tried to restore confidence in the U.S. banking system by assuring the public that their money is safe in our financial institutions. To those same banks he said, “if we do not re-start lending in this country, our recovery will be choked off before it even begins."
Prior to his speech today, Gallup reported that Obama’s approval rating had dipped below 60 percent for the first time since the company started tracking it on January 21st. Gallup stated that his average approval rating was 64 percent, with most of the current decline coming from the Republicans.
Julie Scuderi Senior Editor for HedgeCo.Net Email: julie@hedgeco.net
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New York Times – Hedge funds and the rest of the so-called shadow banking system are almost certainly going to face more regulation. But governments should not try to supervise them directly; instead, it would be far more productive for governments to monitor how they borrow to leverage their investments.
The political momentum for regulating shadow banks is building in advance of a meeting in April in London of representatives of the Group of 20 economies. That much is clear from the European leaders’ meeting over the weekend.
istockAnalyst.com – Yet another story from the department of "I would not believe it unless I saw it with my own eyes" we continue down the path of unintended consequences and the ole run around. There must be some Puritan shame in admitting we are nationalizing our banks – we will do anything to prove otherwise.
Such as backstopping the returns of hedge funds so that our shadow banking system (which was large part of what us got us into this mess) revives. All we are doing is using a middle man with these type of solutions – instead of directly supporting the banks with infusions and backstops "the plan" is to use the hedge funds as middle man? So they can profit off US taxpayers and we can claim "hey it’s a free market!"
Indianapolis Star – Paul Volcker, an adviser to President Barack Obama, urged "fundamental changes and reform of the financial system" that will help the U.S. economy recover from its crisis and promote future growth.
The former chairman of the Federal Reserve called for "particularly close regulation and supervision" of large commercial banks and other financial institutions whose failure would cause a breakdown in the banking system. Volcker, testifying to the Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, reprised recommendations from the Group of 30 last month. Volcker spearheaded that report.
