The TARP Money-Back Guarantee

The Treasury Department reported that in May TARP repayments to taxpayers have, for the first time, surpassed the total amount of TARP funds outstanding.

“Treasury’s report showed that, through the end of the May, TARP repayments had reached a total of $194 billion, which exceeded the total amount of TARP funds outstanding ($190 billion) by $4 billion.”

There has been a great deal of skepticism about whether American taxpayers will ever recover the entire sum invested in the financial system. A total of $700 billion was earmarked. Several large financial firms including Citigroup (NYSE C:), Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS), and Bank of America Corporation (NYSE: BAC) have paid back their loans in full.

The government has, however, continued to lose money on investments in Fannie Mae (NYSE: FRE), Freddie Mac (NYSE: FRE), and American International Group (NYSE: AIG)

The hole created by the initiate is not likely to ever be entirely filled.

The overall projected cost of the TARP program has declined dramatically as repayments to taxpayers continued to exceed expectations. In May, Treasury notified Congress that the projected lifetime cost of TARP has decreased by $11.4 billion to $105.4 billion since the FY 2011 President’s Budget.

Douglas A. McIntyre