Troubled Asset Relief Program

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Taxpayers Still Have $132.9B Stuck in TARP

Government trying to unwind stock without losing on the deal

(Newser) - The Treasury Department has had a tough time selling off some of the stock it took on in exchange for TARP bailout funds, meaning taxpayers are still on the hook for some $132.9 billion—some of which they may never get back, according to a report released today by...

Taxpayers Will Score $12B on Citigroup Bailout: Treasury

Government strikes deal to sell remaining 2.4B shares

(Newser) - Taxpayers will wind up making out like bandits on their $45 billion bailout of Citigroup. The Treasury Department has struck a deal to sell its remaining 2.4 billion shares of Citigroup for $4.35 a share, it announced yesterday, bringing the total money made off such sales to $57...

GM Doesn't Have to Pay Taxes

Little-noticed ruling costs government $45.4 billion

(Newser) - General Motors won’t be government-owned for much longer, but it’s getting a parting gift from Uncle Sam: a $45.4 billion tax exemption that could leave it tax-free for years. GM will be able to shield its future profits using past losses using so-called “tax-loss carry-forwards,”...

Bailed-Out Companies Throw Cash to GOP

Even though Dems led push for TARP

(Newser) - Despite being bailed out by the government—and, in some cases, still owing money to the government—many companies are donating heavily to candidates. And many of those candidates are Republicans, even though it was mostly Democrats who supported the TARP program, the Washington Post reports. The 23 companies that...

Final Bailout Tab: $29B
 Final Bailout Tab: $29B 

Final Bailout Tab: $29B

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...

Bailout May End Up Costing $0

Despised TARP expires Sunday

(Newser) - The terms "$700 billion" and "bailout" are paired as often as "Tea" and "Party," but it turns out that the government lifeline to banks and auto firms will only cost taxpayers a fraction of what was originally predicted. The hugely unpopular Troubled Asset Relief Program—...

17 TARP Banks Paid Execs Billions: Pay Czar

Payments would have violated later guidelines

(Newser) - Seventeen banks gave their top executives $1.6 billion in lavish payments while they were receiving billions of dollars in taxpayer-funded bailouts, the Treasury Department's compensation chief said today. Kenneth Feinberg said he did not have the authority to ask the firms to repay the money handed out during the...

Wells Fargo Will Pay Back $25B, Exit TARP

Bank plans $10.4B stock sale; move will boost EPS

(Newser) - Wells Fargo will repay $25 billion in federal bailout funds, becoming the last major national bank to square its TARP account. Part of the money will come from a stock sale that's expected to yield $10.4 billion, the New York Times reports. "We’re ready to fully repay...

Geithner Extends TARP, Just In Case

Says US must be ready in case of new financial shocks

(Newser) - The Obama administration is keeping the TARP around for a rainy day, Tim Geithner told Congress in a letter today—the program will be extended through October. Though the Treasury is done bailing out big banks for now, Geithner said it needed to be prepared in case of new financial...

Fed Prods Banks for TARP Repayment Plans

BofA, Citi, 7 others asked to submit outlines

(Newser) - The government is stepping up plans to wind down the TARP program. The Fed has asked nine banks stress-tested earlier this year, including Bank of America and Citigroup, to come up with plans to repay a total of $142 billion in TARP funds. The move represents an evolution in the...

NYT to Blankfein: Your 'Apology' Is Bull

Editorial board schools Goldman CEO in true meaning of 'sorry'

(Newser) - Lloyd Blankfein took his sweet time acknowledging his firm's role in almost toppling the financial system, and the New York Times editorial board stewed until today, when the paper's audience is largest. The Goldman Sachs CEO said in a speech this week, "We participated in things that were clearly...

AIG Bailout Squandered Our Money, Trust
 AIG Bailout Squandered Our Money, Trust
Paul Krugman

AIG Bailout Squandered Our Money, Trust

Geithner & Co. were afraid to ask Wall Street for concessions

(Newser) - Financial officials, “most notably Timothy Geithner,” deservedly lost the public's trust with their no-strings-attached bailout of AIG, Paul Krugman rails in the New York Times . As a damning report from the TARP inspector general points out, the government made no serious attempt to extract concessions from the banks...

Mega-Lender CIT Files Chapter 11

Bailed-out firm's move will cost government $2.3B

(Newser) - CIT Group, a major lender to small and medium-sized American businesses, filed for Chapter 11 today. The move means the government is most likely out the $2.3 billion in TARP bailout funds it put up last year. The "prepackaged" procedure is intended to allow CIT, which reported $71...

Toothless Watchdogs Not Sure Where TARP Money Went

(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...

Feds Probe Goldman's Pay Practices

(Newser) - Federal agencies are taking a close look at Goldman Sachs' pay practices and use of credit instruments as the firm's profits rebound to record-breaking levels, the Los Angeles Times reports. The company, which says it is complying with the dual investigations, has paid back its $10 billion TARP loan, but...

TARP-Funded Banks Kept Awarding Bonuses

Firms paid more than they made: Cuomo

(Newser) - The financial crisis and government bailouts did little to change Wall Street’s executive compensation habits, New York's attorney general says. All nine banks given assistance by TARP paid out bonuses in 2008—well before any paid back government loans, according to a survey ordered by Andrew Cuomo. Goldman Sachs,...

Treasury to Let 10 Banks Repay $68B in TARP Loans

(Newser) - The Treasury Department has given 10 banks—including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, American Express, and Capital One—permission to repay their TARP loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The government will recoup $68 billion faster than anticipated, but the money won’t go back into the public coffers; Tim Geithner...

Banks Lowball Taxpayers on TARP Payback
Banks Lowball Taxpayers on TARP Payback
ANALYSIS

Banks Lowball Taxpayers on TARP Payback

Feds hold stake after emergency loans, and could profit by waiting

(Newser) - US banks are eager to repay their TARP money, but doing so might rob taxpayers of the upside they were originally promised, the New York Times reports. In exchange for emergency loans, the government got 10-year warrants to buy stock in the banks. If repaid, it must sell those warrants....

Geithner: $110B Left in TARP War Chest
Geithner: $110B Left in TARP
War Chest
UPDATED

Geithner: $110B Left in TARP War Chest

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...

20 Crime Probes Launched Into Bailout Fraud

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 "...

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