ORLY?

This little nugget from the WSJ:

Some [financial institutions] have begun "slow-walking" the information previously sought by Treasury for stress-testing financial institutions, three bankers say, and considered seeking capital from hedge funds and private-equity funds so they could return federal bailout money, thereby escaping federal restrictions. (emphasis mine)

Now, ostensibly, this "slow-walking" is a petulant response to the populist outrage over AIG compensation (specifically, and Wall Street compensation generally). And, the repeated claim that the Wall Street banks will just "give the money back" is part-and-parcel of the whole effort to escape the TARP regulation (and, I mean, seriously... if you could get money from hedge funds, why haven't you already?).

But the key is the "slow-walking," nevermind the excuse du jour. The Wall Street investment banks really don't want anyone to know what's on their books... and dragging their collective feet on the stress tests is part of avoiding the eventual reckoning re: their insolvency.