Posted on 01/29/2009 9:31:00 PM PST by 2ndDivisionVet
A small but growing number of community banks are backing out of the government's bailout, which they see as fraught with hidden strings and government interference.
About 20 banks so far that applied for or had been approved to receive about $1 billion combined in taxpayer money have reversed course in the past month and refused to take the money. That's just a fraction of the hundreds of billions of dollars the government already has spent, but it shows that taxpayers aren't the only ones anxious about the financial bailout.
"The government's going to own a good portion of these banks," said David Heintzman, president of Stock Yards Bank & Trust in Louisville, Ky. The bank recently turned down $43 million in approved bailout money.
After Congress approved the $700 billion bailout in October, the government gave banks only a few weeks to decide whether they wanted to take part in the government investment program. Many applied to get a foot in the door, in case predictions of an economic collapse came true.
"We drank the Kool-Aid," said Michael Ross, president of Fidelity Bank in Dearborn, Mich., which applied for about $29 million in November.
But as details emerged, the deal didn't look so good. For Fidelity, taking the money would mean the government would have owned about 25 percent of the company's outstanding stock. Then Congress and the White House could start calling the shots, Ross said. He remembers the government's failure overseeing Freddie Mac and its sister company, Fannie Mae, the two housing companies so badly mismanaged they were taken over by the Bush administration.
"These are the guys who brought you Hurricane Katrina. These are the guys who were supposed to be watching Fannie and Freddie," Ross said.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
That's ALWAYS the case with "free" money from the government.
Well, start by searching for the TEXAS RATIO.
Trouble for FREEPERS is the site is no longer allowed to be linked to this domain. The data is out there.
Embassy Bank in the Lehigh Valley, PA is marketing the fact that they said NO to bailouts. They have printed fliers in strategic bank locations with a big NO printed on them, which go on to explain why they refused bailout money.
They are currently paying one of the best rates around on short term CD’s. 2.7%.
I want the list of these banks, as good investments to make for the future.
At the link.
Ford posts $14.6B 2008 loss, still won’t seek aid
Waterbury Republican-American | January 30, 2009 | Tom Krisher & Kimberly S. Johnson
Posted on 01/30/2009 8:12:38 AM PST by Graybeard58
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2174971/posts
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