Independent bureau within Treasury that regulates all federally chartered and many state-chartered savings and loans/thrift institutions and their holding companies.

Condition in which a business does not have enough capital to meet its needs, or to meet its capital requirements if it is a regulated entity.

Reducing the value of an asset as it is carried on a firm's balance sheet because the market value has fallen.

Government program to address the financial crisis, signed into law in October 2008 to purchase or insure up to $700 billion in assets and equity from financial and other institutions.

see Term Securities Lending Facility

Emergency program in which the Federal Reserve made up to $200 billion in Treasury securities available to banks or broker/dealers that traded directly with the Federal Reserve.

From the French, meaning a slice; used to refer to the different types of mortgage-backed securities and CDO bonds that provide specified priorities and amounts of returns: "senior" tranches have the highest priority of returns and therefore the lowest risk/interest rate; mezzanine tranches have mid levels of risk/return; and "equity [..]

see Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility

see Troubled Asset Relief Program

Federal Reserve program, supported by TARP funds, to aid securitization of asset-based loans such as auto loans, student loans, and small business loans.