TARP program now more than 90% repaid

[bhikkhu]

15. I wish that website were more clear

It details exactly where the money went out to and how much, but then when it shows inflows, its just a lump sum with no details.

The one thing that can be taken wrong is that part of the program "bailouts" wasn't gifts or loans, it was the purchase of assets and stock. In the case of GM, the stock purchases were intended to be medium-term, as long as it took to stabilize the markets and the companies, and then it would be sold on the open market. That has gone pretty well, as the health of GM and the sale of AIG stock indicates.

As far as Fannie and Freddie, those were more long-term purchases of mortgage assets . Which should take a very long time to sort out.

Its not a simple matter of giving money and waiting for it to come back; most of that is more like buying something with money, and then keeping it until its a good time to sell.