Elizabeth Fournier and Kyle Siskey
Staff writers, London and New York
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“The tricky part is definitely how one decides what qualifies as toxic, and how to price it”
Norbert Wiederholt, Allen & Overy, Frankfurt |
Putting a price on illiquid assets is a delicate balancing act, and one that financial ministers seem desperate to avoid. German ministers meeting as IFLR went to press failed to reach a formal agreement on how to tackle the estimated €300 billion ($388 billion) of impaired assets held by the country's biggest banks.
The US Treasury's Public-Private Investment Programme (P-Pip) seems to offer a viable solution on paper, by involving private investors in a public sale to determine value. But banks are reluctant to participate in another government plan that could impose restrictions on their operations. The Irish government meanwhile looks set to be following suit by pledging to buy property assets, and the UK...