Bank Rescue 2.0: Treasury Could Dump Toxic Assets Online
OPS_admin | Apr 01, 2009 | Comments 0
Bank Rescue 2.0: Treasury Could Dump Toxic Assets Online
The Treasury Department is not ruling out (though, not endorsing either) a novel proposal floated in small circles of tech/finance experts: to post Wall Street’s toxic assets online, so any American with an Internet connection has the chance to assess their value.
“Treasury hasn’t endorsed or rejected the idea,” said an official at the Department.
Economists and activists are intrigued by the plan, with some speaking highly of it. They argue that an online index could boost the government’s efforts to purge banks of their dead weight, and open up a process that is currently expected to be highly secretive and overseen by just a handful of Wall Street’s most powerful firms.
“An economist would generally tell you that more information is good, and that this would help us with the price discovery process, or someone will use this in a way no one thought of,” said University of Oregon economics professor Mark Thoma. “In the end it probably won’t do much harm and could do some good.”
via Bank Rescue 2.0: Treasury Could Dump Toxic Assets Online.
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