21 October 2011

Europe’s Bank Bill: $3 Trillion

As the European Union continues to discuss the possibility of a new bailout fund, news is breaking that any European banking bailout may cost as much as 2 trillion Euros, or $3 trillion. The $3 trillion sum, which would be raised through the EFSF, may also be charged to the IMF. International Bailout US taxpayers may have received the short-end of the stick in bailing out troubled banks in 2008 and 2009. Under TARP, the US government purchased securities from banks in exchange for equity stakes and long-term preferred share holdings. The program was profitable, depending on who you ask, but much of the $700 billion fund found its way overseas, where it was paid to international banks to settle debts and open transactions. The taxpayer that first bailed out American banks may be asked once more to provide a second round of bailouts. In reports that circulated over the weekend, the IMF may be asked to provide resources toward any European bailout. 


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