Many smaller banks nationwide are telling the government to keep its money according to this article in the Washington Post.
Good for them, fighting off government handouts and socialistic tendencies. But it appears that the government may attempt to force some banks to accept government assistance whether they like it or not. And a lot of smaller banks are not happy.
Peter Fitzgerald, chairman of Chain Bridge
Bank in McLean, said he was "much chagrined that we will be punished
for behaving prudently by now having to face reckless competitors who
all of a sudden are subsidized by the federal government."At Evergreen Federal Bank in Grants Pass, Ore., chief executive
Brady Adams said he has more than 2,000 loans outstanding and only
three borrowers behind on payments. "We don’t need a bailout, and if
other banks had run their banks like we ran our bank, they wouldn’t
have needed a bailout, either," Adams said.
Good for them for resisting. They ran their businesses well and are now being punished. While their competitors who wrote bad loans and were reckless are now bailed out.
What a horrible precedent to set for businesses. It’s basically the government saying, sure, be reckless, make stupid business decisions but if you are an industry critical to the US economy, we’ll bail you out.
No wonder the automakers are the next in line with their hands out.
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