WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Tuesday that the government should pay more than "fire-sale" prices for the toxic assets it would acquire under a proposed $700 billion bailout plan. That could mean higher initial costs for taxpayers and reduced returns when the assets are later resold.
Bernanke's comment was the first indication of how he and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson are thinking about formulating the rescue plan's medicine in a way that doesn't kill the patients. Requiring banks and other financial institutions to sell troubled loans and other assets anywhere close to recent sales prices of only a few cents on the dollar could wipe out the net worth of many and lead to a new wave of bank failures.
The Fed chairman said he favors buying the assets based on their "hold-to-maturity" value, which would require an estimate to be made of what each security will eventually be worth as payments come in over the years.
"If the Treasury bids for and then buys assets at a price close to the hold-to-maturity price, there will be substantial benefits," Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee. "First, banks will have a basis for valuing those assets and will not have to use fire-sale prices. Their capital will not be unreasonably marked down."
"I understand what (Bernanke) is trying to accomplish," said accounting expert Art Bowman, who publishes Bowman's Accounting Report. At the same time, it may be difficult to discern when the market turnaround will occur.
"When does that mean?" Bowman said. "What does maturity define?"
In contrast, current accounting rules require banks to use "mark-to-market" valuations that require them to value their holdings based on the price at which similar securities have recently been sold.
But, as Bernanke notes, if the government drives a hard bargain in buying these distressed holdings, it risks wiping out the reduced equity of many banks. "This creates something of a vicious circle," he said.
Even after paying higher prices, the government could eventually turn a profit if the assets rise in value after the housing market recovers, but analysts said that was far from a certainty.
Unclogging credit is vitalThe government's goal in the bailout plan is to put stressed financial institutions in a better position to raise capital and lend more freely. Unclogging credit problems is critical to helping the faltering economy get back on its feet.
Paulson, who appeared with Bernanke at the Senate Banking Committee hearing, said he envisioned using different methods to price the range of distressed securities that the government would buy from banks under the massive plan. But he said pricing the soured debt will be tricky.
"We asked for broad-based authorities to use a series of market-based approaches. We'll be dealing with different approaches in different situations," Paulson said.
The Fed's apparent decision on pricing illustrates conflicting goals: enabling the government to pick up assets more cheaply versus helping crippled financial institutions recover and thereby spur the economy, said economist Bernard Baumohl, executive director of The Economic Outlook Group.
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