Bailouts: The Emergency Button That Keeps Getting Reinstalled

Group 1: Historical Financial Rescues - J.P. Morgan's intervention in 1907 led to the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913 after he gathered New York trust company presidents for a rescue package [3] - The U.S. profited approximately $580 million from the bailout of Mexico during the 1995 Tequila Crisis due to early repayment and interest premia [3] - President Gerald Ford initially rejected New York City's plea for help in 1975 but later authorized $2.3 billion in federal loans [4] Group 2: Notable Bailouts and Their Outcomes - The Federal Reserve facilitated a $3.6 billion bailout for hedge fund LTCM in 1998 without using taxpayer dollars, involving 14 banks [4] - The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) authorized $700 billion in 2008, but the actual lifetime cost was around $31 billion, with many bank investments generating profits [5] - Greece received a total of 288.7 billion euros (approximately $337.8 billion) across three bailout programs from 2010 to 2015, including the largest sovereign debt restructuring [5] Group 3: Modern Bailout Strategies - Cyprus implemented a "bail-in" in 2013, converting 47.5% of uninsured deposits into equity to recapitalize Bank of Cyprus [6] - In 2023, U.S. regulators ensured all depositors were made whole after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, while shareholders were not compensated [7] - UBS acquired Credit Suisse in 2023 with significant liquidity support from Switzerland, resulting in the wiping out of AT1 bondholders while shareholders received UBS stock [7]