White House: No requests for more bailout funds

The White House says it will not go back to Congress seeking more bank bailout funds. So why did it put a $250 billion "placeholder" in its budget for additional funds for the financial industry? Perhaps if things get much worse, it will have no choice; the Treasury Department has about $110 billion left from a $700 billion bank package passed October, MarketWatch notes. 

My feeling is that it would take something extraordinary for Congress to approve more funds. So for all practical purposes, it looks like banks will either have to get by on exchange offers, asset sales or some other form of capital raising. Citigroup is reportedly exploring raising capital from private sources; exchange offers seem to be the method of choice. Beyond that, it's unclear what will be possible. Asset sales might be tough, if everyone aims to sell within the allotted six months. Selling securities will also be hard. In any case, we're likely to learn more starting May 7, when the details of the stress tests are made known--unless there's another delay.

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