Sept. 19, 2008
U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, in public remarks, called for "further, decisive action to fundamentally and comprehensively address the root cause of our financial system's stresses," adding that hundreds of billions of dollars may be needed to fix the problems.
He said the federal government must implement a program to remove illiquid mortgage assets that are weighing down financial institutions and threatening the economy. More immediately, he said, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac -- which were taken over by the government this month -- will increase their purchases of mortgage-backed debt. To facilitate that effort, Treasury will also expand the MBS purchase program it announced earlier this month.