And the regulators invented the Basel system of risk-weighted capital ratios, which stipulates different leverage ratios for different categories of loan, in theory to take account of the riskiness of those loans.

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However, it may also present an opportunity for regulators to leverage the banks into getting much more aggressive about loan mods and short sales, potentially presenting some lasting housing market solutions.

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Some examples of Recovery Act programs that leverage other investment funds are tax credits for advanced energy manufacturing, loan guarantees for small businesses, and interest subsidies for state and local borrowing to finance essential infrastructure projects.

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Al Ississ described the effort to leverage the goodwill built up by the ceasefire and meeting conditions for the IMF loan as a "giant miscalculation" by the Islamist leader.

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Lost is the opportunity for them to leverage their assets by, say, getting a mortgage on a home or a loan on a business, and thus expand economic activity.

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Critics worry that the Bank will lose its leverage to enforce corporate and social reform, because a guarantee loses it the option of stopping loan disbursement.

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The market presently sniffs more early on profit margin leverage in coal mines, steel rolling mills and copper producers albeit many of these properties could easily violate loan covenants over the next 12 months.

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In recent years this program, which provides direct loans, loan guarantees, and lines of credit to regionally or nationally significant transportation projects, has helped mayors leverage four times the money invested in it by the federal government, helping construction workers get on the job quicker, and repaying taxpayers their hard-earned money faster.

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