Posted on 02/20/2009 3:33:55 PM PST by NCjim
The White House on Friday insisted it's not trying to take over two ailing financial institutions, even as stocks tumbled again.
On Wall Street, talk of nationalization of Citigroup Inc., and Bank of America Corp., prompted investors to continue to balk, worried that the government would have to take control and wipe out shareholders in the process. Citigroup fell 20 percent, while Bank of America fell 12 percent in afternoon trading but also came off their lowest levels.
"This administration continues to strongly believe that a privately held banking system is the correct way to go, ensuring that they are regulated sufficiently by this government," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said when asked about nationalizing the banks.
"That's been our belief for quite some time, and we continue to have that," Gibbs said.
Investors have shown decreasing confidence that U.S. banks can right themselves. Citigroup and Bank of America have already received significant help from taxpayers as the government has rushed in to try to save the financial sector, which has been choked by bad assets and seen the flow of credit shrink.
The speculation about the two banks' future continued to take a direct toll on the market.
Gibbs was pressed for more details on his answer—specifically whether Obama would not nationalize banks. He said it was hard for him to be any clearer.
When a reporter suggested Gibbs could do that by saying point bank that Obama would never nationalize banks, Gibbs would not make that statement, but emphasized: "I think I was very clear about the system that this country has and will continue to have."
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
This is a good thing. The country reacted correctly to talk of nationalization. They revolted.
BTW - When will someone take Dodd, Frank and others to the woodshed? They are absolution fools.
Do you believe this?? Maybe so since it will show IMMEDIATE failure of the bill the Repubs WOULD NOT TOUCH!!! Hey, Hussein, maybe radical socialism and anti-Americanism was not the best way to try and take over America.....
Bambi will do it. He’ll just call it something else.
That’s how he’s done everything so far. And because of a dumb and complicit press and a scared citizenry, he’s gotten away with it.
I’m aware of two choices to handle the banks. If you have other options, please add them.
Either the government chooses the Sweden model and nationalizes the banks which wipes out the shareholders or else pursue the Japan model and continue to pump money into the banks, thus depriving the private sector of money for development and we have a lost decade of economic growth.
Geithner signaled recently he is exploring the Swedish model, but got an earful from his banking buddies that they are not happy at all with this choice.
nobody that counts trusts obama.
He is a confidence man.
Since it was Christopher Dodd who made some off the wall comment about nationalization of the banks, I’d be real curious to know whether or not he and Obama shorted the stocks. Then Obama rolls out the First Mouth to assure the country that there wasn’t going to be any nationalization of the banks.
Wouldn’t put it past them to try to manipulate the stock market. They’re just greedy nincompoops.
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