Summary: At the end of 1992, the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) had disposed of assets with a book value of about $330 billion or about 75 percent of the assets that have come under its control. RTC should be provided with the funds needed to resolve thrifts that already have failed and those likely to fail soon; delay only serves to boost the final tab for resolving the thrift crisis. RTC needs to make progress in several key areas, however, to ensure that taxpayers' costs are minimized. RTC needs to collect, assess, and fully use the basic business information that would allow it to better manage its inventory and ensure that its asset disposition strategies are maximizing recoveries. This is especially vital as RTC uses innovative approaches to dispose of assets, particularly its large volume of hard-to-sell assets. RTC also needs to correct long-standing weaknesses in its contracting system. RTC still does not appreciate the central role that a sound contracting system has in meeting its mission. The continuing problems at HomeFed Savings Bank in San Diego, California, are only the most recent instance of the poor planning, management, and oversight that have plagued RTC from the start. Contracting deficiencies have cost--and continue to cost--taxpayers millions of dollars.
