Governments as Investors of Last Resort: Comparative Credit Crisis Case-Studies

Governments in Europe and the United States have recently acquired significant stakes in a number of financial institutions, raising fears that they will use their investments to pursue interventionist goals. The comparative analysis of sixteen major bailouts in Belgium, Germany, France, Ireland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States provides evidence to the contrary. Fiscal and political considerations have prompted governments to generally avoid common stock investments, limit direct managerial involvement and favor early exits. While this investment strategy may prove detrimental to other stakeholders, it resembles the approach distressed asset investors would adopt under the circumstances.