Fannie Mae CEO Picked as Bailout Chief

Will issue $17B in common stock to meet capital requirements

(NEWSER) - Citigroup and the US government have reached a deal that will allow the bank to repay $20 billion in TARP loans, after weeks of wrangling over the bank's health. Citi will raise $20.5 billion, $17 billion of it in common stock, the company said in a statement, a sign that the government's still worried about its cash reserves. At the same time, the government will sell $5 billion of the Citi common stock it currently holds, with the remainder of its 35% stake gradually sold off within the next 6-12 months. More»

But bank haggles with Treasury, Fed over fee for loss-sharing deal

(NEWSER) - Bank of America may become the latest institution to pay back a portion of its bailout money, with an eye toward escaping Washington's scrutiny of its pay packages. BofA isn't ready to pay back $45 billion in first-round TARP funds, the Wall Street Journal reports, but wants to start with $20 billion tacked on in January to help push through the shotgun takeover of Merrill Lynch. However, a special loss-sharing deal between BofA and the government may complicate matters. More»

(NEWSER) - The Treasury may have to expand its toxic asset programs and repeat stress tests, particularly for smaller banks, a US bailout watchdog panel finds. While larger banks have begun to recover, smaller financial institutions remain exposed to billions in losses from outstanding commercial property loans and are still unable to raise capital, the report concludes. More»

Treasury 'drawing line in sand,' says analyst

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration has rejected CIT Group's pleas for a bailout, and the troubled commercial lender is likely to file for bankruptcy as early as today, reports the Washington Post. CIT—which has already received $2.3 billion in TARP funds—provides financing to close to a million small- and medium-sized businesses, thousands of which may be badly hurt by the lender's demise. 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»