You can add another prominent Republican to the list of those advocating bank nationalization. In today’s Financial Times, James Baker writes, “As president Ronald Reagan’s secretary of the Treasury, I abhor the idea of government ownership – either partial or full – even if only temporary. Unfortunately, we may have no choice.” Baker’s prescription: “We should divide the banks into three groups: the healthy, the hopeless and the needy. Leave the healthy alone and quickly close the hopeless. The needy should be reorganized and recapitalized, preferably through private investment or debt-to-equity swaps but, if necessary, through public funds. It is time for triage.”
Read it at Financial Times
