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September 8, 2008

US Treasury Secretary Defends Mortgage Bailout
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Henry Paulson says government had no choice but to rescue mortgage
giants Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae 
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, Jr. speaks during a news conference on
the bailout of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in Washington,
07 Sep 2008 U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson says the government
had no choice but to rescue two of America's biggest and most important
mortgage lenders. Paulson tells the CNBC television network Monday the
takeover of mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae was "not
something I wanted to do," but that it was necessary to restore
confidence to the troubled U.S. housing market. He says the downturn in
the housing market is at the heart of the country's economic woes, and
that stabilizing the lenders is the first step in creating conditions
that can lead to a recovery. Paulson said he did not know how much the
move could cost U.S. taxpayers, adding, "we didn't sit down and figure
this out with a calculator."He did say the takeover could be managed in
a way that taxpayers should not lose any money. U.S. officials announced
the takeover Sunday, saying it was necessary to prevent Freddie Mac and
Fannie Mae from collapsing under billions of dollars in losses from bad
loans. Paulson said the concerns of foreign central banks were not a
major driving factor in the decision to move ahead with the takeover,
but noted that there was grave concern from within the U.S. and from
around the world.


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