For the federal government, this has been the year of spending dangerously.
As the Obama administration considers how to approach the next phase of the $700 billion financial bailout, questions are being raised on Capitol Hill about whether it is helping the economy.
Thanksgiving is upon us. That makes it a perfect time to contemplate turkeys -- as in "What a turkey that deal was!"
Small business lending has been in freefall since the recession began. Concerned about the obstacles that places in the way of economic recovery, President Obama recently proposed a new federal effort to give community banks access to ultra-cheap government loans, which they can then use to expand their local business lending.
CIT Group is the first big bailout loss for taxpayers, but it won't be the last.
What do you know? The suits at troubled finance firm GMAC must like working for less money. How else to explain that GMAC is reportedly trying to get a third helping of government rescue funds? GMAC is one of the seven firms that the Obama administration announced sweeping changes in executive compensation for last week.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday he expects a wave of banks to return government bailout money to taxpayers soon.
The Obama administration's pay czar is imposing tough cuts on 175 big earners -- but many on Wall Street are still on track for a banner payday.
The $700 billion bailout will ultimately cost taxpayers billions of dollars, but the government stands to lose much more than the money it's pouring into companies.
President Obama is trying -- again -- to help small business get the cash they desperately need.
For the federal government, this has been the year of spending dangerously.
As the Obama administration considers how to approach the next phase of the $700 billion financial bailout, questions are being raised on Capitol Hill about whether it is helping the economy.
Thanksgiving is upon us. That makes it a perfect time to contemplate turkeys -- as in "What a turkey that deal was!"
Small business lending has been in freefall since the recession began. Concerned about the obstacles that places in the way of economic recovery, President Obama recently proposed a new federal effort to give community banks access to ultra-cheap government loans, which they can then use to expand their local business lending.
CIT Group is the first big bailout loss for taxpayers, but it won't be the last.
What do you know? The suits at troubled finance firm GMAC must like working for less money. How else to explain that GMAC is reportedly trying to get a third helping of government rescue funds? GMAC is one of the seven firms that the Obama administration announced sweeping changes in executive compensation for last week.
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Tuesday he expects a wave of banks to return government bailout money to taxpayers soon.
The Obama administration's pay czar is imposing tough cuts on 175 big earners -- but many on Wall Street are still on track for a banner payday.
The $700 billion bailout will ultimately cost taxpayers billions of dollars, but the government stands to lose much more than the money it's pouring into companies.
President Obama is trying -- again -- to help small business get the cash they desperately need.
A government watchdog says federal officials weren't entirely honest with the public about the health of the first 9 financial firms that got federal bailouts, according to a report released Monday.
Taxpayers stand to lose between $100 billion and $200 billion on TARP -- Treasury's $700 billion financial market bailout.
Bailout cop Neil Barofsky is on the lookout for scammers and thieves.
Wall Street will celebrate a not-so-happy anniversary on Tuesday.
It's nearly one year after the big crash, and the financial system is still functioning.
When it comes to TARP, it's better late than never for some banks.
If you're looking for the most detailed look yet about how banks have used funds from the $700 billion bailout, you're in luck.
Banks that received bailout funds said they are trying to comply with executive pay curbs imposed by the Treasury Department, but the firms are worried about changing rules and an inability to keep top talent, according to a report relesed Wednesday by a TARP overseer.
The Obama administration pledged unprecedented transparency in its accounting of the $700 billion bank and auto bailouts (TARP) and the $787.2 billion Recovery Act. A lot of information has been made public but there are some key details where the transparency falls far short.
After rescuing the nation's banking system from utter disaster last fall, Washington now faces an arguably much trickier task: putting the bailout genie back in the bottle.
For some banks, the grim reality is that another dose of TARP may be their best shot at salvation.
One of the things they teach in Successful Investing 101 is to cut your losses short and let your winnings run. But when it comes to the Troubled Assets Relief Program, the government is stuck doing the opposite. Its gains are being cut short, because its most profitable investments are being closed out, yet its losses will continue running.
The markets are on a roll, but it's still a tad early for Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner to be counting his bailout winnings.
Even as top banks delivered abysmal performances last year, they still managed to pay out billions of dollars employee bonuses, according to a study published Thursday by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Don't look now, but the government has actually strung a couple modest victories together in its dealings with big banks.
Bank of New York Mellon is not a name familiar to retail customers, but its role in the financial system is important enough that it was one of the first nine banks persuaded to accept billions of dollars last October from the Troubled Asset Relief Program -- in Bank of New York Mellon's case, $3 billion. The company is the world's largest custodial bank, handling more than $20 trillion in assets for other banks and investors.
The top cop tracking the $700 billion bailout program said Monday that he's concerned federal officials are ignoring his proposals for preventing tax dollars from being wasted or pilfered.
Leaving behind TARP will likely mean a return to the status quo for many banks -- except for those hefty dividends of yesteryear.
Bailed out financial giant Citigroup said Wednesday it is going to the raise base salaries of its employees, although it is not planning to increase their total compensation.
Washington's most dramatic foray into the nation's financial sector since the Great Depression began on Oct. 13 with a misnamed acronym, an unwitting tribe of CEOs, and a confused staff of Treasury officials. It was a foreshadowing of the misadventure to come. "I don't even know who the 9 companies are. Do you?" Michele Davis, assistant secretary for public affairs, wrote in an e-mail sent at 7:15 a.m. on that history-making Monday. "No clue," Treasury chief of staff Jim Wilkinson responded. "Let me get the list."
Executives from some banks propped up by federal funds used company jets for personal purposes, according to a report published Friday.
A flurry of banks officially escaped the clutches of TARP after cutting checks to the U.S. government Wednesday, marking the first major payback of the billions of dollars in aid invested in banks last fall.
For some, the slow, steady demise of TARP cannot happen soon enough.
The Obama administration moved forward Wednesday on curbing runaway corporate pay practices, proposing new legislation aimed at giving shareholders a greater voice on executive pay and appointing a new so-called "pay czar."
Ten leading banks won approval to repay money from the government's controversial TARP program, regulators said Tuesday, which could represent approximately $68 billion in bailout funds returned to taxpayers.
Good riddance, TARP. It was nice knowing you.
Don't expect TARP-free banks to unleash a torrent of loans to cash-strapped consumers.
The big banks are back on their feet. How much credit should taxpayers get for their remarkable recovery?
Banks that were stress tested by the government earlier this year should undergo another round of examinations, a government watchdog group said Tuesday, amid signs that the U.S. economy may be deteriorating faster than first expected.
Sometimes the best investment is the one you didn't make. That's the case with one of the biggest investment pools in the country: the $700 billion Troubled Assets Relief Program, which Congress authorized last October to help combat the financial meltdown. The smartest thing the Treasury has done is to not buy troubled assets with the money. Instead, it has used most of it to buy preferred stock in banks to shore up their capital.
Jamie Dimon isn't one to pull his punches. In fact, the JPMorgan chief's willingness to criticize, for example, the shortcomings of retroactively changing government bailout programs can be refreshing -- and often spot-on.
At long last, the end of TARP may be here for some big banks.
Has the Federal Reserve been reading too many fairy tales?
Banks that took billions of dollars in taxpayer aid clamped down on credit during the month of March, according to a Treasury Department report published Monday.
With another $30 billion in taxpayer bailout money set to go to General Motors -- for a total of $50 billion -- the bankrupt automaker will become the second-largest bailout recipient after AIG.
Some lawmakers are questioning whether the Treasury Department has the power to recycle returned bailout dollars to fund new or expanded rescues for auto companies, life insurers and small banks.
Lending at the nation's top banks perked up in March, according to a government report issued Friday, even as the U.S. economy continued to be mired in a painful recession.
Treasury is offering bailout funds to big insurance companies, but some of the insurers are responding with little enthusiasm.
Six life insurance companies have qualified to receive billions of dollars in bailout money under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, a Treasury Department spokesman said Thursday.
Six life insurance companies have qualified to receive billions of dollars in bailout money under the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
With the stress tests behind them, banking regulators now face the potentially thornier issue of deciding which banks, if any, should be allowed to repay government funds.
Citigroup said Tuesday it authorized $8.2 billion in lending to U.S. consumers and businesses so far this year backed by taxpayer funding.
Is something very wrong with our financial system when the nation's biggest banks are talking about seven-figure bonuses while ever more Americans are losing their jobs? Millions of people seem to think so: If we could calculate an outrage index, it would be marching toward an all-time high. But before we institute public floggings for bankers, let's take a closer look at who or what is really to blame.
Even in this chilly economic climate, megabanks like Wells Fargo and Citigroup have somehow managed to make money.
Bankers itching to put TARP in the rearview mirror are finding it hard to make a quick getaway.
Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, speaking Wednesday ahead of a meeting of international finance officials, said economies around the world need to work together to lay the ground work for a sound future.
The Obama administration's conditions on the repayment of bailout funds by banks shouldn't go too far.
Worried that the Treasury Department's $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program might turn into a boondoggle for banks and a black hole for taxpayers? Elizabeth Warren is too. But as chairwoman of the Congressional Oversight Panel - one of the three organizations overseeing TARP - she's doing something about it.
It looks like Washington is finally giving up on the silly idea that all banks are in the same boat. It's about time.
The Treasury Department is poised to open its $700 billion bailout program to life insurers, officials said Wednesday.
The Treasury Department could allow certain life insurers apply for funds from its Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to people familiar with the matter, The Wall Street Journal reported in its online edition late Tuesday.
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to give the Treasury Department the power to ban future "unreasonable and excessive" compensation at companies receiving federal bailout money.
The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to give the Treasury Department the power to ban future "unreasonable and excessive" compensation at companies receiving federal bailout money.
The mystery is solved: The Treasury Department has clarified its accounting of the $700 billion allocated for the financial-sector bailout, known as the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
The officials charged with overseeing the $700 billion financial bailout told lawmakers Tuesday that the Treasury Department must do more to ensure that taxpayer dollars are properly spent and that the public is kept in the loop.
For Goldman Sachs, making money is usually easy. Giving it back, on the other hand, is turning into quite a challenge.
There's a growing sense among some bankers that Troubled Asset Relief Program known as "TARP" has become toxic. As a result, they want to bail out of the bank bailout program.
Wall Street firms desperate to pay back government funds could now have an extra source of capital - their employees.
The government's efforts to tame the credit crisis faces one of its biggest tests yet as the Federal Reserve finally launches a $1 trillion program aimed at reviving lending for both consumers and business.
I've made my career whacking big business. Magazine covers with titles like "Corporate Killers" and "How Wall Street Sold Out America" hang in my office, and my files are filled with pieces I've written about corporate tax dodging, questionable accounting and toxic waste being peddled as spring water to unsuspecting investors. Since joining FORTUNE in mid-2007, I've been complaining about the price we prudent people are paying to bail out the imprudent.
Taxpayers hate the bank bailout. Lawmakers too. And now it looks like some of the bailed out banks themselves are starting to get fed up with it as well.
Iberiabank Corp. became the first bank to pull out of the government's bailout program Friday, saying it would be returning the $90 million it received from the government in early December under the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Northern Trust has quickly learned that you can't conduct business as usual when you're on the government dole.
An amendment in the $787 billion economic stimulus package passed by Congress Friday would severely restrict bonuses and other forms of compensation for top executives at companies receiving federal bailout money.
Banks may need money - they just claim that they don't want it from the U.S. government anymore.
Stocks rose Wednesday, finding momentum at the end of a choppy session, after lawmakers announced that the Senate and House had reached a compromise deal on an economic stimulus package.
When you take $165 billion from the U.S. government, you better make yourself available when Congress comes calling.
Bank may be the dirtiest of four-letter words these days. A close second is the acronym TARP. Several top banks have taken billions of dollars in government aid from the Troubled Asset Recovery Program during the past few months but there has been little evidence that they have used the funds to boost lending to consumers and businesses.
U.S. banks shouldn't hurry to pay back the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program. Sure, it would be nice to get Uncle Sam off their backs - especially now that the Obama administration is pushing those who receive taxpayers' money not to give their top executives fat bonuses.
The Obama administration's long-anticipated overhaul of the banking bailout is finally near.
Financial shares rallied Monday, but the broader market struggled as the announcement of the overhaul of the bank bailout was delayed and Congress continued to squabble about the stimulus package.
The "massive overhaul" of the banking bailout will be announced a day later than expected.
Stocks broke a four-week losing streak last week on hopes that Washington's stimulus package and revamped bank rescue plan will slow the pace of the 14-month old recession.
Some major financial firms are getting anxious about giving back the billions in U.S. government rescue funds they took hold of late last year. But it may not be that simple.
President Obama is having his say on soaring executive pay.
Citigroup offered its first glimpse Tuesday into how it is spending the $45 billion in government bailout money that the ailing bank has received in recent months.
Business may be slow for the nation's big banks -- but their public relations departments sure are busy!
The Treasury Department on Tuesday detailed 42 local banks that recently received a combined $1.15 billion in government bailout funds.
The deepening problems at big banks are giving their smaller, nimbler rivals a chance to play catch-up.
Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning. Does that mean another six weeks of horrific stock-market losses? The worst January for stocks in history is over. But so far, February is looking no different, with the Dow and S&P 500 each falling about 1% early Monday morning before recovering as the trading session wore on.
Wells Fargo wants taxpayers to know their investment is already paying dividends...literally.
The government forced Citigroup to cancel its order for a brand new $50 million corporate jet. Now, two Congressmen are hoping that the Obama administration will convince the beleaguered bank to scrap its naming rights deal with the New York Mets.
The Obama administration is intent on fixing the banks. But doing so won't be simple or cheap.
The Obama administration is trying to fix the bank bailout process. But they have their work cut out for them.
Credit markets remain under pressure as the weak economy and ongoing turmoil in the banking sector continue to take a toll on lending confidence.
The U.S. dollar fell against major currencies Wednesday, reversing a trend from earlier in the session, as rising stock prices appeared to increase investors' appetite for more risky assets.
If you want taxpayer money, you better lend it out.
Can anything satisfy banks' appetite for capital?
Have the Brits found the way to unclog a backed-up banking system?
President-elect Barack Obama on Tuesday tried to persuade Senate Democrats to get behind his plan for the second half of the $700 billion bailout, warning he would veto a threatened disapproval resolution, according to senators who met with him.
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