Capital Briefs: Bill to Use Fed Surplus For Fico Tab Introduced

Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., introduced legislation this week to pay some of the annual interest due on Financing Corp. bonds with $3 billion in surplus Federal Reserve funds.

Four Democratic congressmen from Massachusetts are sponsoring similar legislation in the House. The bills are designed to ease the banking industry's burden under another piece of legislation that would shift to banks the bulk of the interest due every year on the Fico bonds.

"Our nation's banking institutions and the customers who rely on them cannot afford, literally, to face another savings and loan crisis," Sen. Kerry said Thursday. "This legislation will ease the burden on the industry and move us forward."

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