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The U.S. Department of the Treasury announced today that it is starting secondary public offerings of the preferred stock it holds in seven so-called CPP institutions (Capital Purchase Program under TARP). The Troubled Assets Relief Program, which injected huge amounts of taxpayer cash into U.S. banks, was sold to the American public as a way to encourage banks to lend money to free up the frozen capital markets. From October 2008 through December 2009, Treasury invested almost $205 billion in 707 financial institutions as part of the federal government’s efforts to help stabilize U.S. financial markets and the economy.

However, some the banks used part of the funds to pay huge executive bonuses, repurchase stock and pay dividends, according to the Government Accountability Office. Now GAO concerns are being raised about the health of the banks remaining in the program. Continue reading →