by Calculated Risk on 10/10/2008 07:21:00 PM

From Bloomberg: Paulson Says Will Buy Bank Equity `Soon as We Can'

U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said the U.S. will buy equity ``as soon as we can'' in banks and other financial institutions to restore market stability and revive economic growth.

The Treasury is ``working to develop a standardized program that is open to a broad array of financial institutions,'' Paulson said at a press conference ...

``We're going to do it as soon as we can do it and do it properly and do it effectively and right,'' Paulson said. ``Trust me, we are not wasting time; people are working around the clock to deal with this.''

Paulson was also asked if Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs qualified as banks that are too big to fail. Paulson replied that the G-7 didn't discuss specific banks.

As usual, Paulson was short on specifics.

Update: Paulson also seemed to say buying equity provided a bigger bang for the buck than buying troubled mortgage assets. (I'm looking for the transcript of the Q&A for the exact quote). Update: the WaPo quotes Paulson during the Q&A:

"We can use taxpayer money more effectively, more efficiently, it will go farther, they will get more for their dollars and more protection if we develop a standardized program" for buying equity stakes, Paulson said.

So maybe he was just saying a standardized program is better - I thought he was comparing buying equities to buying troubled assets. (Still looking for transcript).