Mr. EDWARD YINGLING (President and CEO, American Bankers Association): It is a well-designed program.

NPR: Federal Plan To Invest In Banks Met With Caution

Yingling says the government twisted arms to get the banks to take money from the Treasury Department.

NPR: Federal Plan To Invest In Banks Met With Caution

The problem, Yingling says is that, right now, the market for a lot of these assets has become dysfunctional.

NPR: SEC Changes On The Table

But Ed Yingling, president of the American Bankers Association, insists they're at the root of the carnage in the financial world.

NPR: SEC Changes On The Table

Ed Yingling, president and CEO of the American Bankers Association, says it's not a plan bankers sought, but they're supporting it.

NPR: Federal Plan To Invest In Banks Met With Caution

Mr. YINGLING: That means that their capital levels go down, and if their capital levels go down, it means they cannot grow.

NPR: SEC Changes On The Table

Mr. ED YINGLING (President, CEO, American Bankers Association): The mess we are in was started by the subprime crisis, but it didn't have to be anywhere near this bad.

NPR: SEC Changes On The Table

No one wants to buy that, and Yingling says, if banks have to record the current value of these securities on their balance sheets, they end up taking huge loses.

NPR: SEC Changes On The Table