Investors push back over terms of TALF

Investors, particularly hedge funds, are not comfortable with some of the stipulations for participating in the Term Asset-Backed Loan Facility, saying they give the Federal Reserve and dealers too much power to comb through their books. The program, which is backed by the Fed and the U.S. Treasury, is scheduled to launch next week, but it faces the challenge of getting financial firms to agree to the contract's wording. Rob Toomey, managing director and associate general counsel at SIFMA, says the goal of the contract is to simplify the process for dealers and investors.