Raymond James applies for TARP funds
Raymond James Financial Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., has applied to participate in Treasury’s Troubled Assets Relief Program.
Raymond James applies for TARP funds
Dan Jamieson
Raymond James Financial Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., has applied to participate in Treasury’s Troubled Assets Relief Program.
If the firm is accepted and decides to participate in the program, the funds would be used “as a replacement for our previous and current unsecured credit lines and as a means of obtaining additional capital,” Thomas James, chief executive of Raymond James, said in a statement yesterday.
In an interview today, Raymond James president Chet Helck said the firm has not decided whether to participate, but wanted to meet a deadline for applying for TARP funds.
“We don’t have a bad assets problem, it’s just that the normal working capital lines are really squirrelly now,” he said.
Banks in general are reluctant to lend, Mr. Helck said, especially to securities firms that are subject to volatile moves in the value of their inventory.
He said that reluctance on the part of banks should dissipate once the extreme volatility in the stock and bond markets abates.
Originally set up to buy troubled assets, the TARP program is now focused on providing equity infusions into financial firms.
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