It really depends on if we (in the form of the Feds) bought the "illiquid" assets at the price they're actually worth.
This whole crisis was caused by the inability of these huge banks to sell their mortgage packages at anywhere near their value. Essentially, they're required to report their assets as being what they can sell them for at some given market date. Since nobody is willing to buy these mortgage securities at what they're worth, the companies have to report that their assets are much less than they actually are, and as a result their credit ratings get cut and they can't get more credit.
I don't know what the Fed is planning to do in regards to pricing these securities. They consist of thousands of mortgages - and over 95%of those mortgages are good and will not default. If the Fed is buying them at less than 95% of their "face" value then we as taxpayers are getting a great deal. If we're paying 100% of "face" we're getting hosed.
Commenting by HaloScan
