Treasury Gets Better Returns for Bailout Warrants

[ProSense]

Treasury Gets Better Returns for Bailout Warrants (Correct)

By Peter Eichenbaum

Feb. 11 (Bloomberg) -- A Congressional panel that criticized the U.S. Treasury Department for failing to get the best price for warrants sold back to bailed-out banks now says the agency is getting higher returns.

The government netted 92 percent of the fair market value for warrants it received from 23 banks including Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. after initial sales of the securities from 11 “relatively small” lenders last year brought in two-thirds of estimates, according to a report today from the Congressional Oversight Panel.

The panel, created by lawmakers to oversee the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said the Treasury netted $4.03 billion from the sale of warrants in 34 banks along with dividends, for a total return of 8.8 percent. The U.S. demanded the warrants for rescuing banks during the depths of the financial crisis and President Barack Obama has vowed to recover “every single dime” for taxpayers.

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Special Inspector General Neil Barofsky, a separate government watchdog monitoring the bailouts, said last month that the entire TARP program, including the rescue of American International Group Inc. and General Motors Co., will cost taxpayers less than previously predicted. An earlier Barofksy report to Congress said the final cost could be “substantial.”

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[boppers]

1. Wait, does this means that the "bailouts" are looking to get *profit* from the banks?

Can somebody with more experience and knowledge of the program explain what's going on here?

[Cha]

2. A few unrecs here..can someone

explain why this isn't good news for a Democratic board?

[Phx_Dem]

3. The unrecs are the typical kneejerk reaction to anything related to Geithner

The better the news, the more they can't handle it.

[girl gone mad]

4. "92% of fair market value"

better than the 66% they were getting, but no one should be jumping for joy here. Still far short of what they should have fetched, and let's not forget where the money is really coming from.