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Subject: RTC Chief: $25 Billion To Finish S&L Cleanup; Casey Says Job to Be Largely
Date: Wed, 18 Nov 92 04:53:56 EST
Message-ID: <22.1992Nov18.045356@AmeriCast.com>

RTC Chief: $25 Billion To Finish S&L Cleanup; Casey Says Job to
Be Largely Finished in '93<By Susan Schmidt=Washington Post Staff
Writer=

The head of the nation's thrift cleanup effort said yesterday he
believes the job will be largely done next year, and he nearly
halved his previous predictions of the remaining cost - down to
$25 billion.

 Albert V. Casey, who has rushed to complete the cleanup and dis-
mantle the federal Resolution Trust Corp. since President Bush
appointed him RTC chief executive a year ago, said he predicted
the total cost of the disposition of failed thrifts by the RTC
will be $110 billion to $112 billion.

 The RTC has taken over 727 failed savings and loans in the past
three years, shutting their doors, paying off depositors and sel-
ling their loans, real estate and other assets.

 "We can sunset the whole thing by the end of 1993," Casey told
reporters at a conference of business executives here.

 His estimate of the cost, however, is well below the $130 bil-
lion to $160 billion figure the Treasury has stuck to, and well
below the amount the outgoing director of the Office of Thrift
Supervision, Timothy Ryan, said is needed.

 Ryan, whose agency regulates S&Ls, said 10 days ago that another
$50 billion of taxpayer funds will be needed, on top of the $88
billion Congress has already approved.

 Casey, who is seeking to retain his post in the new Clinton ad-
ministration, said the cleanup will be largely done next year
thanks to aggressive new sales techniques at the agency.

 RTC spokesman Steve Katsanos said Casey expects to have sold all
but $36 billion to $40 billion worth of assets by the end of
1993, and Casey believes most of those can be turned back over to
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. for disposal, which original-
ly had jurisdiction and will again eventually.  Casey said the
agency met its goal of selling $100 billion worth of assets this
year and has set a $70 billion goal for 1993.

 "He thinks the job is largely done now," said Katsanos.

 But some Democrats said they are concerned that Casey is rushing
the job.

  "You you can sell anything if you want to give it away and get
30 cents on dollar," said Rep. Bruce F. Vento (D-Minn.), who has
headed a congressional oversight task force on the RTC.  "It's
really a question of the quality of the job that gets done," Ven-
to said.  "Casey has been an unbridled optimist all year long,
but unfortunately our economy isn't performing that way," said
Vento.

 The RTC has been unable to close insolvent thrifts since April
1, when it ran out of money and Congress refused to authorize
more spending. Renewed funding for the agency is likely to be one
of the first major tasks facing the Clinton administration.
There are widely varying estimates on the number of S&Ls that
will ultimately have to be taken over by the government, from the
50 more estimated by Casey to more than 600 estimated by the
Congressional Budget Office.

02:16 11-18C9999-----

Copyright 1992, The Washington Post.  This story is from the
Washington Post's Capitol Edition On-Line and is not to be ar-
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