A headline in this weekend’s Wall Street Journal reads: “Geithner Calls on US Banks to Boost Lending.” The actual story, however, notes that the Treasury Secretary did not say “pretty please” when he made the request.
Tosh on you, Timmy. Tosh.
In other recent news, the Fed under Chairman Bernanke, began criticizing banks for not easing their mortgage loan terms. This comes in the wake of a report which found that only 2,000 mortgage loans out of a potential half- million that could be eased under new federal guidelines have been eased. The Fed, in order to speed things up, is now saying (in public, no less!) that banks should be “ashamed” of themselves for being so slow, and is thinking of citing banks by name to make their embarrassment even more painful.
Tosh on you, too, Ben. Tosh
Not saying pretty please to banks that have so graciously accepted trillions of dollars directly or indirectly in government largesse? Actually threatening to embarrass these people with shame-shame gestures? Clearly, the gloves are off. No more nice guy in the government’s relationship with lenders. These people mean business. These government bullies obviously think that just because they have been allowed to give infinitely deserving banks taxpayer money they have the right to make demands on these institutions — and use Stasi-like tactics in the effort.
We can only hope and pray that formal apologies from Geithner and Bernanke will be forthcoming in the near future. This isn’t a socialist state where banks have to be thankful for bailouts and actually reciprocate — not yet, anyway.
To make amends to the fine, decent, upstanding folks who have so graciously accepted public money in order to generate their own much needed bonuses, we must hope that Timmy and Ben will now also assure them (in writing!) that never again will they be treated so shabbily. And that the next time they deign to come forward to lighten the public purse (which could well be very soon), there won’t be such a tawdry and unwarranted followup.