The U.S. federal government is the world’s largest financial institution. It provides credit and assumes financial risk through diverse activities, but the economic cost and risk of these activities and obligations remains for the most part poorly understood and partially measured....

<DIV>The U.S. government is the world’s largest financial institution, providing credit and assuming risk through diverse activities. But the potential cost and risk of these actions and obligations remain poorly understood and only partially measured. Government budgetary and financial accounting...</div>