EU: The Challenges of a Bank Bailout

The European Central Bank (ECB) has loaned some 442 billion euro (about $622 billion) in 1 percent, one-year loans to Europe's banks in an effort to keep the Continent's troubled banking system afloat. In its efforts to rescue Europe's banks, the ECB has been hobbled by a lack of oversight powers. The absence of these powers may mean that this infusion represents the sum total of Europe's bank bailout.