The lawyers are working overtime to ensure the US government’s great hope is not rudely extinguished. New York’s Federal Reserve Wednesday’s tweaked terms for the term asset-backed securities loan facility, under which investors such as hedge funds can borrow up to 95 per cent of the value of new securities backed by consumer loans. Talf, already slated for expansion from the initial $200bn to $1,000bn, is the flagship programme to help stimulate lending. The authorities can ill afford a flop.

The latest iteration, therefore, includes concessions on contentious points such as the power to inspect borrowers’ books. That will now be limited to the loan and collateral under the Talf agreement. The government removed executive compensation restrictions in the programme earlier this month. But politically driven, retroactive restrictions imposed on banks taking public funds have made potential Talf borrowers understandably nervous. Reasonably favourable pricing, while tempting, increases the chances of future outrage at private investors’ returns.