The federal government on Mar. 3 provided some long-awaited answers on
how it plans to unlock consumer and small business credit markets,
which have been frozen more solid than an icy tundra.
The $200 billion joint Federal Reserve Board and U.S. Treasury program,
known as the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, is
intended to get money flowing for small employers, student-loan
providers, credit-card issuers, and auto lenders.
TALF was first announced late last year, but with only hazy parameters and few details. Whereas the better-known Troubled Asset Relief Program,
or TARP, was created to bail out banks, TALF's purpose is to induce
investors to buy up AAA-rated securities backed by new consumer and
small business loans by offering $200 billion in low-interest loans to
would-be investors. The idea is that these securities will spur enough
investor interest to eventually generate up to $1 trillion of lending.
See the full article at http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/mar2009/db2009033_180741.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story
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