SIGTARP, the oversight agency of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), in its July 2009 report, vetted by Treasury, noted that the U.S. Government’s “Total Potential Support Related to Crisis” (page 138) amounted to $23.7 trillion. While this figure represents a backstop commitment, not a measure of total potential loss, it is nonetheless an astounding degree of support, in the form of liquidity infusions, credit extensions and guarantees, various other forms of assistance for financial institutions and other business entities affected by the financial crisis.
One example of the mechanics of these backstop commitments involved two of the major investment-banks which were at the forefront of the U.S. financial crisis, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, who, through their high-risk exposure to subprime debt and derivatives, received enormous amounts of direct financial assistance from government and the Federal Reserve.
Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan received these direct liquidity infusions during the financial crisis via Fed disbursements through the Primary Dealer Credit Facility and numerous other credit facilities. The two (according to ZeroHedge 4-1-11) “had the temerity to pledge bonds that had defaulted (i.e. had a rating of D)… as in bankrupt, and pretty much worthless. . . that have no value whatsoever. . .” Goldman Sachs received $24.7 million and JP Morgan $1.4 million on the worthless collateral (September 15, 2008). Goldman Sachs pledged D-rated securities again September 29, 2008 and received $82.7 million (Citigroup received $102.8 million; Merrill Lynch – $217.8 million; Morgan Stanley – $261.0 million; UBS – $202.2 million).
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U.S. citizens deserve nothing less than the same direct access to liquidity extensions that major banks and global financial institutions received during the 2008-2010 financial crisis.
The Leviticus 25 Plan – An Economic Acceleration Plan for America