Pols Sending TARP Funds to Home State Banks

$700B plan operates without watchdog as lawmakers spat

(NEWSER) - More than one-third of the $700 billion bailout package has been committed, but the program is operating without any government oversight, reports the Washington Post. The provisions intended to monitor the disbursement for corruption and waste are being overlooked, and no one has been nominated to the newly created post of special inspector general for the plan. More»

Bank bailout is highlight of latest accounting

(NEWSER) - So it's not exactly zero, but the $388 billion the feds dumped into bailouts is going to end up with a final price tag of ... $29 billion, reports the New York Times. Most of Treasury's losses are focused in housing rescues ($46 billion) and the Detroit bailout ($17 billion), while other segments of TARP actually reaped profits—like the $22 billion feds expect to pocket when they sell their stake in AIG. More»

(NEWSER) - Anybody seen $700 billion? The government watchdogs charged with overseeing TARP spending don't seem able to answer even basic questions about where the money went, Chris Adams writes at McClatchy. A special inspector general, a congressional panel, and eight other inspectors general are supposed to be keeping track of the funds, but they haven't been given the tools to do the job properly, Adams writes. More»

Inspector calls TARP 'inherently vulnerable' to insider trading, abuse

(NEWSER) - Federal authorities have begun 20 separate investigations into possible fraud, tax violations, insider trading, and other criminal activities surrounding Henry Paulson's $750 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, reports the Los Angeles Times. It's only the first round of probes, according to the bailout program's inspector general, who called TARP "inherently vulnerable to fraud, waste, and abuse." More»

Journal says Treasury's tally hides damage

(NEWSER) - Banks that received taxpayer aid to restart lending are loaning less than they did before the bailout, a Wall Street Journal analysis finds. The most recent figures available, from February, show a 23% drop in new loans from the lending level in October, when the Treasury Department kicked off TARP, the Journal notes. The figures are a more alarming and possibly more accurate measure than those the Treasury uses. More»