Wash Exam: Some banks eager to return tax dollars, but Geithner says no

[IHOPSkins]

http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/politics/Some-banks-eager-to-return-tax-dollars-but-Geithner-says-no-43396832.html

Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner told a congressional panel Tuesday he was eager for companies to pay back the nearly $600 billion already loaned out under the Troubled Asset Relief Program implemented last fall, but was uncertain about what hurdles those banks would have to first clear.

Banks that took the money are not only required to pay 5 percent interest, the are subjected to new regulations regarding disclosures and executive compensation.

But they can’t simply say “no thanks” and write a check to the Treasury if they don’t need the money, Geithner said.

“The basic objective that’s guiding what we do is to make sure the system is working as a whole” when deciding whether to take back TARP money, Geithner told the panel, which is charged with overseeing TARP.

The “ultimate test,” Geithner told the panel, is whether having a certain bank return the money is good for the credit system.

Companies such as JPMorgan Chase have been clamoring to return their money, saying they do not want to operate under the control of the government .....

So the banks were FORCED to take Trap....I mean TARP

Then Government changes the Rules

Then Government says no to payback

And the march towards socialism continues........

[ljs]

I'm confused, I think..so this means as I see Bank of America racking in over $4billion ($2bil profit (not revenue, but profit from what I see), that if they wanted to pay back money to our government, it won't be accepted?

Why not?

Bank of America said yesterday it earned $4.2 billion in the first quarter, the latest sign that the government is succeeding in stabilizing the banking industry.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/20/AR2009042000790.html?hpid=moreheadlines

[armstrong001]

I read "earned" as a gross amount. I'm probably wrong though.

[PokerPacker]

I'm confused, I think..so this means as I see Bank of America racking in over $4billion ($2bil profit (not revenue, but profit from what I see), that if they wanted to pay back money to our government, it won't be accepted?

Why not?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/20/AR2009042000790.html?hpid=moreheadlines

federal government can no longer control it. Can't control what you don't have your fingers in.

[ljs]

I read/heard a report that their net profit was about $2.6 billion, that says 4.2 earned....dunno, just doesn't make sense that if they want to give it back, why we can't take it. I could see if it was the gov't wanting to take it back by force.

[ljs]

I knew I saw it, but It's $2.2 bil- just at the bottom of the article I posted link for.

The bank booked a profit of $2.2 billion on the decline in value of its own debt, which is allowed because the bank could now repurchase that debt at the lower price.

[Madison Redskin]

And the march towards socialism continues........

IHOP:

First, how did the federal government "force" banks to take the money? Bank presidents felt pressured to take the TARP money, but that's not the same thing as being forced to do so.

Second, you and others railed against TARP as a wasteful program. In fact, many banks want to cash out the federal government because TARP might be a boon....to the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. The commercial terms aren't that great for the banks. Do you at least admit that the right might have been wrong about TARP constituting totally wasteful spending?

Third, what "rules" did the government change?

Fourth, the government and the banks negotiated when/how the banks could redeem the government's shares.

[sacase]

The whole TARP thing is a mess, there are two reasons the Govt doesn't want the banks to pay it back. The first is control. As long as the banks have the money, the Govt can control what they do. The other reason is that the Govt wants to make sure the banks have enough money to loan out. However, the issue with this is, banks are actually forcing people to have good credit to get loans and they are not handing money out hand over fist to people who either can't afford to pay it back or have a bad payment history. YEs some banks were forced to take TARP money.

[Rocky21]

IHOP, you need to do a lot more research on TARP funds.