Right Can't Stand 'Cranky' TARP Overseer

Says it would 'irresponsible' not to extend bailout

(AP) - Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a skeptical watchdog panel today that a "limited, qualified extension" of the unpopular bank bailout program until October was necessary. "It would be irresponsible to do otherwise," Geithner said. Oversight chairman Elizabeth Warren seemed unconvinced, saying that though the program was "an important part of the government's rescue strategy," it "has been far from an unmitigated success." More»

Bank shenanigans are destroying the building block of America

(NEWSER) - The inevitable consequence of letting big banks run wild is nothing less than the extinction of the American middle class. "Unthinkable,” Elizabeth Warren writes—but a real and dire possibility. Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel on the bailouts, has seen the numbers, and they aren't pretty. At midcentury, middle-class families could weather busts because the booms were so big. In the 1960s, income went up 33%. In the early 2000s, that number was 1.6%. More»

Warren confirms cuts to 25 top earners at 7 companies

(AP) - The Treasury Department today is expected to order seven companies that have not paid back last year's US government bailouts to halve their top executives' average compensation. The cuts apply to the 25 highest-paid executives at banks and other companies that received the most assistance, with salaries being slashed by as much as 90%. The move, reported last night, is "real," TARP overseer Elizabeth Warren confirmed to CBS this morning. 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 won't ask Congress for more; defends slack lending

(NEWSER) - Some $109.6 billion remains in the government's $700 billion bailout, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner today told TARP's congressional oversight chief, Elizabeth Warren. The Treasury sec says that's plenty—he expects banks to repay about $25 billion over the next year, and won't ask Congress for more. Geithner also defended weakened bank lending, saying "In recessions following a long period of substantial borrowing, demand for credit falls much more sharply." More»