Key Senator Warns Another Major Bank "teetering" On Failure

By Martin Kady II

(The Politico)   Sen. Robert Bennett (R-Utah), a key member of the Senate Banking Committee, warned Saturday that another major U.S. bank was "teetering" on the edge of failure and would go under if the bailout deal doesn't come through soon.

Bennett would not name the bank, perhaps learning the lesson from a situation last month when Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), warned that California-based IndyMac could not cover its deposits, and there was a run on that bank by customers.

Bennett was essentially trying to warn the congressional holdouts on the bailout legislation that the situation was so dire that more U.S. banks would fail as soon as Monday or Tuesday, and he seemed to have knowledge, as a member of the Banking Committee, of another major financial institution in trouble.

"What will they say come Monday if another major bank fails _ I will not use the name," Bennett said. "There's another major bank teetering on the edge."

Bennett has been in on some of the key negotiations on the bailout, and appears to have been briefed on some of the severe consequences if Congress fails to act on the bailout legislation.

"If everyone understands how dire the situation is, that will concentrate the mind," Bennett said. "There will be no more commercial paper."