On the way into work this morning I read a story of how a healthy local bank here in Chicago (actually upscale Lake Forest) was “actively evaluating whether to seek between $80 million and $240 million from the U.S. Treasury Department’s bailout program.”
Why? According to the Chicago Tribune story the CEO of this bank suggested that with the magic of leverage this program could provide $2 billion worth of capital to perhaps make acquisitions.
If you weren’t paying attention, soon after the bailout bill was passed the Treasury decided to switch gears and directly fund banks instead of simply buying troubled assets to loosen up credit.
