Bailout? Just Buyout

Brad Setser: How much is $350 billion?:

My colleagues at the Council’s Center for Geoeconomic Studies calculated that it was enough to buy most of the common equity of the US financial system – at least on January 21.

That isn’t the best use of the TARP’s funds, but it does illustrate just how little common equity is now supporting the financial sector’s large aggregate balance sheet.