British banks have swapped more than £100bn of mortgage-backed securities for Treasury bonds – more than twice the amount originally expected – Alistair Darling, chancellor, revealed last night.
Treasury officials admit that in spite of the high quality of AAA-rated mortgages and the “haircut” demanded by the government to provide a margin for possible losses, there is still a risk for the taxpayer.
Financial Times 20/09/09 page 3
