from the story

It would work like this. The Treasury would partner with private entities, like hedge funds, to buy pools of mortgage-backed securities from banks. More than 80 percent of each purchase would be financed through a non-recourse loan from the FDIC, using the assets as collateral. Any assets that appreciate in price would yield profits that the Treasury and the private entities would split 50/50. Any assets that go bad could be forfeited to the FDIC, with the taxpayer eventually eating the loss.