"Some in the press and some in the markets are naive if they think that different countries with different financial systems, economies in different stages of development . . . and different political systems, different laws are going to come up with precisely the same policy to deal with the issues," he said.
But Paulson added that all participants at the meeting agreed that strong steps were necessary. "This is a period like none of us has ever seen before," he said. "What came out of the meeting is there weren't differences in what we need to do."
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Favored by economists
The Treasury's equity-purchase program was widely favored by economists, who contended that it would be preferable to the approach of buying bad mortgage securities from banks, the centerpiece of the financial bailout bill.
"Buying mortgage assets is plagued with problems," said R. Glenn Hubbard, dean of the Columbia Business School and former chairman of President Bush's Council of Economic Advisors.
Hubbard made his comment shortly before the Paulson announcement but after it became clear that the Treasury secretary was leaning toward the new approach.
"It's very helpful that Treasury is pivoting in this direction," Hubbard said. "This is a crisis that policy can fix -- it's not beyond our ability."
Paulson offered few details about the equity program, declining to say how much of the $700 billion would go to such purchases. He said U.S. officials were "working around the clock" to develop the program.
In recent weeks, the Treasury and Federal Reserve have taken unprecedented steps to protect the economy from the effects of the global credit crisis. And much more aggressive steps are looming, government and economic observers say.
The Fed, for example, has moved to thaw out the commercial paper market -- the provider of short-term loans for companies including massive conglomerates and provincial manufacturing firms. The central bank's announcement this week that it would create a "backstop facility" -- essentially a form of guarantee -- for commercial paper began to lower interest rates on the debt for some borrowers within a day or so.
Many economists and finance experts say the latest round of initiatives, along with those that are being telegraphed by government officials, suggest that policymakers are pulling out all the stops in attempting to unlock the credit crunch.
