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Will President Obama nationalize the banks?
With this week's swearing-in of Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner,
President Obama's economic team is finally ready to tackle the
massive challenge before them. One big question: how much control
will they wield over America's banks, the first recipients of the
federal bailout?
David Brancaccio sits down with financial reporter Bethany McLean -
who broke the Enron story - to look at options on the table for
stabilizing the country's financial system. If banks are
nationalized, it will have an enormous impact on depositors,
shareholders and taxpayers. Everyone agrees that the banks
need federal money to avoid even more calamity, but how much is too
much, and who's watching how they spend it?
NOW's Web site (
www.pbs.org/now ) will list some
of the not-so-needy areas where federally assisted banks have been
spending their money.