Hopes for the new rescue plan include a stronger moral compass

A great deal is resting on the solidity of tomorrow´s new bank rescue plan, and one of the most important components, whatever the plan´s details, will be its moral accessibility. The Obama administration will have to have figured out a way to make all participants in the financial system-that is, everyone who banks, borrows, owns or works-comfortable with a redemptive solution.

For an example of why, check out a recent post on Bank Lawyer´s Blog which comments on the advertising wars that have sprung up between banks that took funds from the government´s troubled asset relief program and those that have refused them. In an attempt to harness public disgust with imprudent lending and with stories of executives´ extravagant behavior, some community banks have posted billboards boasting of their abstinence from Tarp.

The Dallas-based Bank Lawyer, whose name is Kevin Funnell, says he can see why banks would want to latch on to the seeming superiority of not needing a government bailout. And last week´s rumblings from Goldman Sachs Chief Financial Officer David Viniar demonstrated that Wall Street hasn´t totally discarded its own system of values (not moral but market-driven), a system that conflicts with Tarp in its current form.

But the financial system remains in turmoil, and all eyes are trained on the Treasury to help alleviate it. Both consumers and market participants are hoping now that they can accept whatever help comes their way and still be able to sleep at night.