Troubled Asset Relief Program

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JPMorgan Chief: I Could Repay TARP Tomorrow

Dimon calls bailout money a 'scarlet letter'

(Newser) - JPMorgan Chase can’t wait to pay back the government’s bailout money, CEO Jamie Dimon said today, after the company posted a better-than-expected $2.1 billion in earnings. The CEO called the funds a “scarlet letter,” Bloomberg reports, and said he was just waiting for the Treasury’...

US Extends Bailout to Life Insurers

Treasury throwing a lifeline to a third industry

(Newser) - The Treasury Department has decided to give struggling life insurance companies access to federal bailout funds, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal. The industry—which had earlier seemed largely immune to the credit crisis—has been hit hard by stock market and real estate declines, leaving some firms on the...

Bailout Chief Drives a Hard Bargain

TARP CIO Lambright adept at 'high-speed game of chicken'

(Newser) - James Lambright, the man who gets final say over where a lot of the federal bailout money goes, is known at the Treasury, and to an ever-widening circle of executives at America’s biggest companies, as a hard-nosed bargainer, the Wall Street Journal reports. Lambright's self-professed aim is “navigating...

Treasury Helps Companies Skirt Bailout Rules

(Newser) - The Obama administration has devised a maybe-legal method of avoiding Congress’ restrictions on companies that accept bailout funds, including limits on executive pay and a requirement that taxpayers get an ownership stake in the firms, the Washington Post reports. To sidestep the restrictions, the administration has created special entities to...

DC Still Turns Blind Eye to Banks: Spitzer
DC Still Turns Blind Eye to Banks: Spitzer
OPINION
Apr 1, 2009 11:38 AM CDT

DC Still Turns Blind Eye to Banks: Spitzer

Regulators attempt to save face after failing to prevent crisis

(Newser) - There’s a reason the government seems to have no control—darn the luck—over the banks it’s poured billions into: It’s trying to save face, writes Eliot Spitzer for Slate. Washington has struck a tacit bargain with Wall Street, the ex-governor says: Taxpayers bail out the financial...

13 Bailed-Out Banks Owe Back Taxes
13 Bailed-Out Banks Owe
Back Taxes
Mar 19, 2009 11:25 AM CDT

13 Bailed-Out Banks Owe Back Taxes

Lawmaker uncovers total of at least $220M in unpaid bills

(Newser) - At least 13 of the firms that got billions of dollars from the federal government owe back taxes, and their tab exceeds $220 million, Rep. John Lewis said today. What's more, that could be just the tip of the iceberg, the AP reports. The House Ways and Means subcommittee, which...

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage
TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage
Mar 11, 2009 3:15 PM CDT

TARP Manager: Let's Not Micromanage

Banks can't make bad loans for lending's sake, says Kashkari

(Newser) - Neel Kashkari, the man who manages the Troubled Asset Relief Program, doesn’t think the government ought to try to make decisions for the banks it helps, he told lawmakers today. “However well-intended, government officials are not positioned to make better commercial decisions than lenders,” he insisted. He...

Obama 'Dithering' on Bank Rescue: Krugman
Obama 'Dithering' on Bank Rescue: Krugman
OPINION
Mar 6, 2009 9:23 AM CST

Obama 'Dithering' on Bank Rescue: Krugman

Toxic asset plans just aren't going to work

(Newser) - Barack Obama has repeatedly said that bold action is needed to save the financial system, and he’s probably right, writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times. So it’s a shame he isn’t taking any. “The reality is that when it comes to dealing with the...

'Humbled' Bank CEOs Will Deny Blowing Bailout

Top bankers face grilling today from furious Congress

(Newser) - Bank bosses being grilled by Congress today will defend their use of bailout cash, according to prepared testimony obtained by Reuters. Chief executives from the eight biggest US banks arrive in Washington this morning—by public transportation instead of private jet this time—and are expected to strike a note...

Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan
 Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan 
Feb 10, 2009 10:33 AM CST

Geithner Unveils New Bank Plan

(Newser) - Attempts to revive the banking industry so far have been “inadequate,” Timothy Geithner said today, promising to “fundamentally reshape” the government’s plan to rescue banks, driven by more forceful action. “We want their balance sheets cleaner and stronger,” Geithner said. To do it, he’...

Stocks Down on Bailout Delay
 Stocks Down on Bailout Delay 
MARKET Open
Feb 9, 2009 8:41 AM CST

Stocks Down on Bailout Delay

(Newser) - Stocks slid at the open, after Timothy Geithner pushed back the announcement of his much-anticipated bank rescue plan until tomorrow. The Dow dropped 40 points, while the Nasdaq and S&P barely budged, falling 0.6% and 0.4% each. But financial stocks actually rose, with Bank of America, Citigroup,...

New Bailout Plan Hinges on Private Investors

Treasury will set 'floor price' on distressed assets to lure buyers

(Newser) - The Treasury's latest plan to rescue the banking industry relies heavily on private-sector investors, the New York Times reports. The government will guarantee a floor price on the toxic assets weighing down banks’ balance sheets, encouraging hedge funds, private equity groups, and even insurers to buy them. The plan should...

Panel: Paulson Overpaid for Bank Stocks

Treasury spent $254B for a $176B value, Congress learns

(Newser) - Henry Paulson overpaid for the preferred stock he bought from banks with TARP funds, after promising Congress he wouldn’t, a congressional oversight panel says. The government handed banks $254 billion in exchange for stock that was then worth just $176 billion, the Washington Post reports. “Treasury simply did...

Bailout Firms Lobbied Big Time for TARP Funds

Spending on charities, sponsored meetings topped $330,000

(Newser) - Several of the firms who would receive taxpayer funds from the TARP bailout spent money on meetings and charitable gifts that benefited lawmakers, the Hill reports. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, for example, donated $330,000 in the last 6 months of 2008 to politically affiliated charities. Bank of America,...

NY AG May Claw Back $4B Merrill Bonuses

Cuomo expands probe into Merrill's handling of pre-takeover handouts

(Newser) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is considering action ordering the return of $4 billion in early bonuses Merrill Lynch handed out to staff just before its bailout-backed takeover by Bank of America, an insider tells Bloomberg. Cuomo has widened his probe into the bonuses and aims to find out...

Geithner Cracks Down on Bailout Lobbyists

(Newser) - Timothy Geithner announced new rules cracking down on lobbyist influence over government bailout funds today, the Wall Street Journal reports. “American taxpayers deserve to know that their money is spent in the most effective way to stabilize the financial system,” the newly-minted Treasury secretary said. Contact with lobbyists...

Bailout Bucks Go to Lobbyists
 Bailout Bucks Go to Lobbyists 
Jan 24, 2009 6:59 AM CST

Bailout Bucks Go to Lobbyists

Bailed-out firms' spending on lobbying threatens to spark government backlash

(Newser) - A surprising number of firms that reaped billions in bailout funds from the government have been spending big to lobby the government for more, the New York Times reports. Citigroup, General Motors, and at least seven others have paid lobbyists millions since October. Some recipients actually increased the amount they...

Pols Sending TARP Funds to Home State Banks

Frank, others pull strings for bailout funds

(Newser) - Only healthy banks are supposed to get TARP funds, and OneUnited Bank in Boston is not a healthy bank. So why did it wind up pocketing a $12 million infusion from the Treasury? Because powerful Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank interceded for it, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bankers, regulators, and...

Soros Blasts 'Haphazard' Bailout

Billionaire calls for radical next phase to stave off Depression

(Newser) - The first bailout was bungled and the new $850 billion stimulus package under consideration will help keep social services ticking but won't be enough to save the slumping economy,  billionaire philanthropist George Soros warned the US Conference of Mayors yesterday. He slammed the "haphazard" handling of the...

Obama Will Get Next $350B, Pelosi Signals

Speaker sees close vote on authorizing remaining bailout funds

(Newser) - Barack Obama will get the $350 billion in bailout funds he’s asking for, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicated today on ABC’s Good Morning America. The Democrat didn’t explicitly guarantee victory in what’s expected to be a close vote, but said she believed Obama would get the...

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