The Nation - News from Feb. 5, 1989

President Bush and his top advisers discussed the savings and loan crisis but the President made no decisions, the White House said. The advisers--including Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady, Budget Director Richard G. Darman and Chief of Staff John H. Sununu--traveled to the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md., and conferred with the President for 3 1/2 hours, said B. Jay Cooper, a presidential spokesman. Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan joined the group for lunch. Among the proposals that were to have been discussed were plans to raise $54 billion over three years through financing arrangements based on boosting deposit insurance premiums paid by institutions, according to the New York Times. The plan would call for banks to pay 18 cents in insurance premiums for every $100 in deposits, while savings and loans would pay 25 cents per $100, the paper said. Banks now pay 8 cents, while S&Ls; pay 21 cents.