haircut

And he needs to make sure that any American bank that was involved in loans to Asia, and now wants to share in the I.M.F. bailout, takes a haircut. And I'm not just talking about a trim.

Government securities having high credit rating such as Treasury bonds and Treasury bills are usually subjected to 1% to 10% haircut, while for more risky, volatile or illiquid securities, such as a stock option, the haircut might be as high as 30%.