Banks set up their off-balance sheet vehicles in response to capital rules.

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To that end, several off-balance-sheet entities were set up.

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You're greeted with a solid plastic box that holds your documents, a branded mousepad, toolkit, T-Shirt and a hand-written quality-assurance sign-off sheet from the person who tested and set up your gear.

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To finance the off-balance-sheet assets, the government set deposit interest rates at very low levels: 1% or so.

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