Too Big to Fail Page #2

Neel's team is working on

some kind of a disaster scenario.

We're calling it the "Break the Glass" plan,

what to ask Congress for

if your back's against the wall.

Money.

Is what you ask them for.

The problem is, Congress won't move

until we've already hit the iceberg,

and at that point, it may be too late.

So you're saying, with the full weight

of the United States Treasury behind me,

all I can do is call Warren Buffett?

Hi, Warren. It's Hank.

I understand you've been talking to Dick Fuld.

You know my misgivings, Hank,

about investment banks.

As soon as they started

trading for themselves,

the risk managers lost control.

I had a very unpleasant time

with Salomon Brothers.

That's fair enough.

But we both know that investment banking

is a profitable business.

I figure it made you a billion or so, huh?

I gotta believe that if the price was right,

you wouldn't just walk away.

You know a good deal when you see one.

What say you?

I gotta leave that to your judgment.

People act like we're crack dealers.

Nobody put a gun

to anybody's head and said,

"Hey, nimrod, buy a house you can't afford.

And you know what? While you're at it,

"put a line of credit on that baby

and buy yourself a boat."

You heard anything from Buffett?

He's asking for preferred shares at 40

with a dividend of 9%.

We were just at 66. What the f***?

Maybe it's just an opening gambit, Dick.

Sounds more like a goddamn insult.

- Let me get that, Dick.

- Thank you.

We're at 36 right now.

We haven't been anywhere near 66 in months.

The markets like Buffett.

- His name will push the price up overnight.

- I don't care who he is,

I am not spending $360 million a year

for the pleasure of doing business with him.

Real estate will come back.

Koreans have been sniffing around.

There you go. And they won't steal us blind.

I've seen this before.

CEOs panic and they sell out cheap.

Right now, the Street's running around

with its hair on fire,

but the storm always passes.

We stand strong, and on the other side,

we'll eat Goldman's lunch.

So, what do we do about Buffett?

Screw Warren Buffett.

- He passed?

- Lehman dropped

to 28 and a half this morning.

What in the world is he thinking?

He's not thinking. He's delusional.

He thought the ask was too high.

He's gotta raise cash.

I told him that.

- I spoke to Greenspan.

- Really?

He says there's too much housing supply.

That's the problem.

So we should buy up all the vacant houses

and burn them.

Dick needs a buyer,

someone with a grip on reality.

Barclays expressed some interest

a couple of months ago,

but I don't think

the price is low enough for them.

- Bank of America?

- Possible.

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