"Instead of opting for a publicly transparent BWIC in the disposition of its
Maiden Lane II assets, the Fed has once again gone opaque - long a critique of
the Fed's practices which have required repeated FOIAs in the past to get some
clarity on its secret bailouts and transactions - and proceeded with a private
sale, without any clarity on the deal terms, in which it sold $7 billion in face
amount of Maiden Lane II assets direct to Credit Suisse. The alternative of
course would be the same snarling of the MBS and broadly fixed income market that
we saw in June of last year. In other words, the Fed looked at the options:
transparency and risk of grinding credit demand to a halt, or doing what it does
best, which is to transact in the shadows, and avoid capital markets risk. It
opted for the latter. As to why the Fed decided to go ahead with a deal shrouded
in secrecy? "The New York Fed decided to move forward with the
transaction only after determining that the winning bid represented good value
for the public." "I am pleased with the strength of the bids
and the level of market interest in these assets," said William C.
Dudley, President of the New York Fed. Because if there is one thing Bill Dudley
and the Fed knows is gauging what is in the best interest of the public... and
the callorie content of the iPad of course..."
at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/fed-back-its-secretive-ways-sells-7-billion-maiden-lane-assets-directly-credit-suisse-without-p
at http://www.zerohedge.com/news/fed-back-its-secretive-ways-sells-7-billion-maiden-lane-assets-directly-credit-suisse-without-p
