On Wed, 22 Aug 2007, Doug Henwood wrote:
> Oh yeah, I get the rationale, but it's still very odd: there used to
> be a stigma to borrowing at the discount window, and now it's
> behavior for role models.
Sure, but I presume that's exactly the reason they're shouting it: it's not easy to change an image like that, and their strategy depends on changing it.
And the old image of the discount window is basically outdated because nobody used it. My feeling is that if you were a troubled bank and came up now, they wouldn't give you money at this rate. If it isn't true, it's surely the message they are trying to send -- that the nature of the discount window has completely changed.
Michael