The Coming Insurance Bailout

The top story in the Wall Street Journal tonight is that the Treasury plans to extend TARP funding to certain life insurance companies whose capital has been hit hard.

From the Journal:

The Treasury Department plans to extend the Troubled Asset Relief Program to certain eligible life insurers, according to people familiar with the matter. Several life insurers have been burdened lately by capital constraints amid ailing markets.

The Treasury is expected to announce within the next several days the inclusion of life insurers that are bank holding companies or own a thrift, these people said.

This shouldn't be something new to viewers of the program.   I have spoken about this before on the program, and even highlighted it in a speech I gave at a conference in New York back in November.

You can watch the speech here (insurance comment comes 1:20 into speech)