Haitong Sec.*News: Paulson Shifts Focus of Rescue to Consumer Lending
<p>NEWS <br/>Paulson Shifts Focus of Rescue to Consumer Lending <br/>Nov. 12 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson plans to use the second half of the $700 billion financial rescue program to help relieve pressures on consumer credit, scrapping an effort to buy devalued mortgage assets. <br/>``Illiquidity in this sector is raising the cost and reducing the availability of car loans, student loans and credit cards,'' Paulson said today in a speech at the Treasury in Washington. ``This is creating a heavy burden on the American people and reducing the number of jobs in our economy.'' <br/>His remarks are an acknowledgement that the pitch he made to Congress for the bailout hasn't delivered what was promised. Paulson sold the Troubled Asset Relief Program as a way to rid bank balance sheets of illiquid mortgage assets, and he may encounter resistance from Congress for the remaining $350 billion after using most of the first half to buy bank stakes. <br/>Lawmakers will ``put his feet to the fire,'' said Kevin Petrasic, a former official at the Office of Thrift Supervision, now an attorney with the Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker law firm in Washington. ``I'm not sure how you get around dealing with what is clearly the congressional intent.'' <br/>Paulson said he has no regrets for the revised plan. ``I will never apologize for changing a strategy or an approach if the facts change,'' he said. <br/> <br/>美财政部放弃收购抵押资产 拟向非银行机构注资<br/>【MarketWatch华盛顿11月12日讯】北京时间周三晚23点35分消息，美国财政部长亨利-保尔森刚刚发表讲话，透露金融市场救助行动下一阶段的措施。他宣布已搁置从银行以及其它金融机构手中收购问题抵押资产的方案，并将注意力转向非银行与消费金融领域。<br/> 保尔森为迄今为止财政部采取的措施进行了辩护，但同时表示，金融市场的情况仍然脆弱，工作重点仍然必须放在“恢复与修补”上。<br/> 他在财政部发表讲话称，“我认为，为防止系统性事件的出现，我们已经采取了必要的措施。无论在国内还是在全世界，我们都看到了改善的迹象。”<br/> 但他也令人吃惊地承认，收购抵押资产并非利用政府资金的“最有效途径”。<br/> 这一计划一度曾是金融市场救助方案的基石，也是该方案在国会辩论时的争论焦点。<br/> 但几乎是在获得这项拨款的同时，美国财政部决定通过认购优先股的方式向银行业注资，并认为这才是这笔资金更好的使用方式。<br/> 保尔森表示，不收购抵押资产所节省下来的部分资金将被用于支持信用卡应收账款、汽车贷款与学生贷款市场。<br/> 他补充道，这一市场实际上已经陷于停顿。<br/> 保尔森表示：“我们正在与联储一起探索为3A级的资产支持证券开发一种潜在的流动性工具。”<br/> 他表示，美国财政部还将考虑把部分资金提供给非银行金融机构，而银行业也可能需要更多的帮助。<br/> 他表示：“虽然金融体系已经稳定下来，但考虑到它们所持有的问题资产、抵押赎回权丧失率预期中的居高不下，以及美国与世界经济环境的不景气，银行与非银行机构都可能需要更多的资金。”<br/> 保尔森还表示，修改抵押贷款协议的提案仍在考虑范围之内。<br/> 他表示，这些计划的成本将是巨大的，而且不属于7000亿美元救市方案项下。<br/> </p>页:
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