PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The Secretary must act to keep taxpayers from losing money over the long run. The Secretary must weigh the cash spent, the future value of any assets bought, and the program’s wider economic benefits like more credit, better savings and pensions, and fewer federal losses. The Secretary should hold troubled assets until they can be sold at the best market time or until they mature, sell them for the best return, and try to get private buyers to help. When buying, the Secretary must pay the lowest price that still fits the program’s goals and should use market tools like auctions when it makes sense. If the Secretary buys directly from a single financial institution, extra steps must be taken to make sure the price is fair. Before buying troubled assets, the Secretary must get compensation from the seller. For firms traded on a national exchange, that means a warrant to buy stock (or voting stock the Secretary agrees not to vote). For other firms, it means a warrant or a senior debt note. Those warrants or debt must give taxpayers a share of any upside or extra interest, protect taxpayers against losses and program costs, and include anti-dilution rules. The Secretary can sell, exercise, or give up these instruments and can set the exercise price. If a firm stops being listed, the warrant must convert to senior debt or otherwise protect the Treasury’s value. The firm must have authorized shares available or provide equivalent senior debt if it cannot. Small purchases from one firm under $100,000,000 in total are exempt, and alternative rules apply if a firm is legally barred from issuing securities.

Title 12, §5223

Banks and Banking, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Long-term costs and benefits

(1)Minimizing negative impact

The Secretary shall use the authority under this chapter in a manner that will minimize any potential long-term negative impact on the taxpayer, taking into account the direct outlays, potential long-term returns on assets purchased, and the overall economic benefits of the program, including economic benefits due to improvements in economic activity and the availability of credit, the impact on the savings and pensions of individuals, and reductions in losses to the Federal Government.

(2)Authority

In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary shall—

(A)hold the assets to maturity or for resale for and until such time as the Secretary determines that the market is optimal for selling such assets, in order to maximize the value for taxpayers; and

(B)sell such assets at a price that the Secretary determines, based on available financial analysis, will maximize return on investment for the Federal Government.

(3)Private sector participation

The Secretary shall encourage the private sector to participate in purchases of troubled assets, and to invest in financial institutions, consistent with the provisions of this section.

(b)Use of market mechanisms

In making purchases under this chapter, the Secretary shall—

(1)make such purchases at the lowest price that the Secretary determines to be consistent with the purposes of this chapter; and

(2)maximize the efficiency of the use of taxpayer resources by using market mechanisms, including auctions or reverse auctions, where appropriate.

(c)Direct purchases

If the Secretary determines that use of a market mechanism under subsection (b) is not feasible or appropriate, and the purposes of the chapter are best met through direct purchases from an individual financial institution, the Secretary shall pursue additional measures to ensure that prices paid for assets are reasonable and reflect the underlying value of the asset.

(d)Conditions on purchase authority for warrants and debt instruments

(1)In general

The Secretary may not purchase, or make any commitment to purchase, any troubled asset under the authority of this chapter, unless the Secretary receives from the financial institution from which such assets are to be purchased—

(A)in the case of a financial institution, the securities of which are traded on a national securities exchange, a warrant giving the right to the Secretary to receive nonvoting common stock or preferred stock in such financial institution, or voting stock with respect to which, the Secretary agrees not to exercise voting power, as the Secretary determines appropriate; or

(B)in the case of any financial institution other than one described in subparagraph (A), a warrant for common or preferred stock, or a senior debt instrument from such financial institution, as described in paragraph (2)(C).

(2)Terms and conditions

The terms and conditions of any warrant or senior debt instrument required under paragraph (1) shall meet the following requirements:

(A)Purposes

Such terms and conditions shall, at a minimum, be designed—

(i)to provide for reasonable participation by the Secretary, for the benefit of taxpayers, in equity appreciation in the case of a warrant or other equity security, or a reasonable interest rate premium, in the case of a debt instrument; and

(ii)to provide additional protection for the taxpayer against losses from sale of assets by the Secretary under this chapter and the administrative expenses of the TARP.

(B)Authority to sell, exercise, or surrender

The Secretary may sell, exercise, or surrender a warrant or any senior debt instrument received under this subsection, based on the conditions established under subparagraph (A).

(C)Conversion

The warrant shall provide that if, after the warrant is received by the Secretary under this subsection, the financial institution that issued the warrant is no longer listed or traded on a national securities exchange or securities association, as described in paragraph (1)(A), such warrants shall convert to senior debt, or contain appropriate protections for the Secretary to ensure that the Treasury is appropriately compensated for the value of the warrant, in an amount determined by the Secretary.

(D)Protections

Any warrant representing securities to be received by the Secretary under this subsection shall contain anti-dilution provisions of the type employed in capital market transactions, as determined by the Secretary. Such provisions shall protect the value of the securities from market transactions such as stock splits, stock distributions, dividends, and other distributions, mergers, and other forms of reorganization or recapitalization.

(E)Exercise price

The exercise price for any warrant issued pursuant to this subsection shall be set by the Secretary, in the interest of the taxpayers.

(F)Sufficiency

The financial institution shall guarantee to the Secretary that it has authorized shares of nonvoting stock available to fulfill its obligations under this subsection. Should the financial institution not have sufficient authorized shares, including preferred shares that may carry dividend rights equal to a multiple number of common shares, the Secretary may, to the extent necessary, accept a senior debt note in an amount, and on such terms as will compensate the Secretary with equivalent value, in the event that a sufficient shareholder vote to authorize the necessary additional shares cannot be obtained.

(3)Exceptions

(A)De minimis

The Secretary shall establish de minimis exceptions to the requirements of this subsection, based on the size of the cumulative transactions of troubled assets purchased from any one financial institution for the duration of the program, at not more than $100,000,000.

(B)Other exceptions

The Secretary shall establish an exception to the requirements of this subsection and appropriate alternative requirements for any participating financial institution that is legally prohibited from issuing securities and debt instruments, so as not to allow circumvention of the requirements of this section.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act” and was translated as reading “this division”, meaning div. A of Pub. L. 110–343, Oct. 3, 2008, 122 Stat. 3765, known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. For complete classification of division A to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 5201 of this title and Tables.

§5223 Minimization of Long-term Costs and Maximization of Benefits for Taxpayers