This indicates that few subsidized dollars in the aggregate found their way into the equity accounts of holding company nonbank affiliates from the upstreaming of bank funds. We must, I think, be continually on guard that the subsidy provided by the safety net does not leak outside the institutions for which it was intended and provide a broad subsidy to other kinds of activities.
Put another way, we must remain especially vigilant in maintaining a proper balance between a safety net that fosters economic and financial stabilization and one that benefits the competitive position of private businesses for no particular public purpose. As I noted, safety net subsidies have costs in terms of distorted incentives and misallocated resources.