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Washington and Los Angeles -- In the first major disclosure of corruption in the $750-billion financial bailout program, federal investigators said Monday they have opened 20 criminal probes into possible securities fraud, tax violations, insider trading and other crimes. The cases represent only the first wave of investigations, and the total fraud could ultimately reach into the tens of billions of dollars, according to Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the bailout program. ..... The report said little about who is under investigation and how the fraudulent schemes work, but investigators are already on alert for a long list...

ECB Drawing Up 'Bad Bank' Guidelines By JOELLEN PERRY DAVOS, Switzerland -- The European Central Bank is drawing up guidelines for European governments that are considering so-called "bad banks" to house banks' toxic assets. The ECB is also working on guidelines for European governments that plan to guarantee toxic assets remaining on banks' books, another form of bank bailout. Both sets of guidelines are being drawn up with the European Commission. The ECB hopes the guidelines can help avoid competitive one-upmanship across the 27-nation European Union as nations seek to shore up struggling banks. The ECB, which makes monetary policy...

January 29, 2009 Global banks join clamour for bailouts Jenny Booth The crisis facing banks was sharply underlined today when Russia's second-biggest bank admitted in Davos that it was seeking a bailout and Germany indicated that it was coming round to the idea of "bad banks" to hive off toxic debt. Russian banks have been badly hit by the global economic crisis, which has hammered the country’s stock, bond and currency markets. A number of its smaller banks have already failed, and some of its biggest lenders may need capital injections. Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, Andrei...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The cost of the government setting up a "bad bank" to buy up toxic assets from struggling U.S. banks could range as high as $4 trillion, according to some experts, Sen. Charles Schumer said on Thursday. ... "I've talked to various experts. The estimates vary, from one to four," the Senate Banking Committee member said. Asked if banks need $2 trillion to $3 trillion in additional bailout funds, Schumer said: "No, not necessarily."

Soros: 'Bad Bank' for Troubled Assets Is Bad Idea Billionaire financier George Soros told CNBC he disagrees with plans to create a new government entity to buy up troubled bank loans and believes former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson mis-managed the first rescue attempt of financial institutions. "That (the "bad bank" proposal) will help relieve the situation, but it will not be sufficient to turn it around," Soros said during a live interview at the Davos economic conference in Switzerland. Instead, Soros said he would create a "good bank" and re-capitalize the good assets. He admitted his alternative plan is not...