AllianceBernstein raised the $1.1 billion targeted amount under a government program aimed at buying toxic assets from U.S. banks.
AllianceBernstein, one of nine managers participating in the Treasury Department’s Public-Private Investment Program, or PPIP, completed its final round of fundraising with more than $1.1 billion from investors, the company said in a statement. Matching capital plus loans from the Treasury bring the fund’s total buying power to $4.6 billion, about half of which has been invested, the company said.
PPIP, started in July, is an effort by the Treasury to spur purchases of devalued mortgage-backed securities that weighed on banks’ balance sheets and helped cause the financial crisis. Originally envisioned as soaking up as much as $1 trillion in assets, the program is now aimed at buying about $40 billion. Managers have struggled to raise funds after mortgage-backed bonds rallied in 2009, leaving the program’s main buying target less attractive for investors.
