Remember those mortgage bonds the Federal Reserve bought when it bailed out American International Group, Inc. (NYSE: AIG). Today the NY Fed sold $7.01 billion worth of the bonds to Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS). And that’s at the face value of the bonds.
According to a report from Bloomberg News, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) made an “unsolicited offer” to buy some of the assets previously held by an AIG investment vehicle known as Maiden Lane II. The Fed instead offered the bonds in a competitive bidding process, which led NY Fed president William Dudley to say that he was “pleased with the strength of the bids and the level of market interest in these assets.” He might have added ‘surprised.’