It looks like Wall Street might not be so anxious to be bailed out after all: [Hat tip to John and our admin!]

Fears are mounting that many Wall Street banks and financial firms will refuse to participate in the US government’s $700bn bail-out package, leaving global markets and world economies in a perilous state for months to come.

‘There is a growing feeling that banks … might instead decide to tough it out,’ said Thomas Caldwell, chairman and CEO of Caldwell Financial, a $1bn-plus fund manager.

So why would these firms that were supposed to be teetering on the brink of collapse change their mind?

 

Wall Street analysts believe the addition of so many terms to the bill might deter potential participants.

One of the least attractive elements is a section designed to curb executive pay at banks that participate in the bail-out package. These include limiting stock-related pay and banning ‘golden parachutes’ for executives.

‘I think this hodge-podge of regulations and rules will be enough to put many [chief executives] off participating,’ Caldwell said.

We were told that the global financial system would melt down without the bailout package, but now it appears that if going to the government trough hurts the bottom line of CEOs, they’ll figure out how to keep it afloat without government assistance after all.