Bad bank, good idea?

Friday, January 30, 2009

The Obama administration is considering the creation of a “bad bank” to buy up billions in so-called toxic assets. We’re taking an in-depth look at this seemingly counter intuitive proposal — a proposal that could cost in excess of $2 trillion. Can bad banks be a good thing? The Takeaway is joined by Jane Sasseen, Washington Bureau Chief for BusinessWeek, and Freakonomics author Stephen Dubner.

"They can borrow money a lot cheaper, so they don't need as much of a return. They don't even necessarily need a return at all. Whereas for a private investor to go in and do this right now, it is going to need a 10 or 15 percent return to take the risks involved."
— Jane Sasseen of BusinessWeek Magazine on the government creating a "bad bank" to help buy up toxic debt

Guests:

Jane Sasseen

Contributors:

Stephen J. Dubner and Noel King

Comments [1]

Jinny St. Goar

Do you have the 8 am version of this interview? If you do, please send the link to my email address. Many thanks

Jan. 30 2009 11:49 AM

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