Treasury Department

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BofA, Wells Fargo Rank Worst for Loan Modifications

Treasury report rates banks' performance

(Newser) - Bank of America began modifying just 4% of its loans eligible under the Making Home Affordable Act, according to a Treasury report on big banks' performance, while Wells Fargo started just 6%. JPMorgan Chase led the pack with 20%, Bloomberg reports, while Citigroup had 15%. “Some of the servicers...

Geithner Flips Out, Tongue-Lashes Regulators

(Newser) - The heat is apparently getting to Tim Geithner. At a meeting last week with high-level financial regulators, the treasury secretary indulged in a potty-mouthed diatribe about delays in the administration's highly touted plan to overhaul the regulatory system, declaring, "enough is enough," the Wall Street Journal reports....

TARP Watchdog: Bailouts May Cost US $24T

Number based on 'hypothetical maximum,' Treasury counters

(Newser) - The special inspector overseeing Treasury’s TARP program says federal assistance to banks and other financial entities could end up costing taxpayers $23.7 trillion, Bloomberg reports. Aside from the $700 billion bailout, Neil Barofsky says in testimony prepared for told Congress tomorrow, other trillion-dollar federal programs could balloon. “...

Banks Misused Bailout Funds

(Newser) - Instead of using federal bailout money to increase lending as the money was intended, many banks used TARP funds to make investments, repay loans, and even buy other banks, reports the Washington Post, citing a government audit report. Of 360 banks surveyed, 110 invested at least some of their bailout...

Bankruptcy Looms as Feds Refuse to Bail Out CIT Group

Treasury 'drawing line in sand,' says analyst

(Newser) - The Obama administration has rejected CIT Group's pleas for a bailout, and the troubled commercial lender is likely to file for bankruptcy as early as today, reports the Washington Post. CIT—which has already received $2.3 billion in TARP funds—provides financing to close to a million small- and...

Deficit Tops $1T for First Time
 Deficit Tops $1T for First Time 
Jul 13, 2009 2:25 PM CDT

Deficit Tops $1T for First Time

(Newser) - Nine months into the fiscal year, the federal deficit has topped $1 trillion for the first time. The imbalance is intensifying fears about higher interest rates and inflation; there's also concern about trying to reverse the deficit—by reducing government spending or raising taxes—in the midst of a harsh...

Bailouts May Be Offered to Small Businesses

TARP funds, meant to save banks, could be used to save jobs

(Newser) - The Obama administration is working on a plan that would take money from the TARP—the $700 billion fund intended to rescue banks—and lend it to small businesses, the Washington Post reports. The money would come with few restrictions, and the government would pick up as much as 90%...

How Taxpayers Can Profit From the New GM
How Taxpayers Can Profit From the New GM
ANALYSIS
Jul 9, 2009 8:47 PM CDT

How Taxpayers Can Profit From the New GM

A change in the automotive paradigm would be worth more than any dividend

(Newser) - Tomorrow will see the death—and rebirth—of General Motors. And with the government taking a 60% stake, it's reasonable to wonder whether taxpayers will ever see a return on their investment, writes Matthew DeBord for the Big Money on Slate. But the focus on money might be "short-sighted,...

GE Reaps Billions From Bailout Loophole
 GE Reaps 
 Billions From 
 Bailout Loophole 
INVESTIGATION
Jun 29, 2009 8:09 AM CDT

GE Reaps Billions From Bailout Loophole

Loophole lets company pull down $74B from FDIC

(Newser) - The biggest beneficiary of the federal government's debt guarantee program, one of Washington's key bank rescue efforts, isn't a bank or a financial services company—it's General Electric, which exploited a loophole it had lobbied aggressively to insert, and reaped billions in bailout money. A joint investigation by ProPublica and...

Obama Proposes More Powerful Fed

(Newser) - President Obama today proposed broad new powers for the Federal Reserve and the creation of new national regulator to ensure against another financial crisis, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the new plan, the Fed would oversee all components of any banking concern, even its foreign affiliates, and Treasury would...

Obama Vows 'Light Touch' in Bank Regulation
Obama Vows 'Light Touch' in Bank Regulation
INTERVIEW
Jun 17, 2009 6:07 AM CDT

Obama Vows 'Light Touch' in Bank Regulation

Oversight measures aim for 'minimum' to avoid meltdown

(Newser) - Today Barack Obama will announce a major financial reform package that will give the Fed, Treasury, and FDIC new powers of regulation and oversight. It's the most substantial shift in financial regulations since the 1930s—but stops short of some of the most radical proposals, including tough limits on derivatives...

Dow Jumps 28, Ends at 2009 High
 Dow Jumps 28, 
 Ends at 2009 High  
MARKETS
Jun 12, 2009 3:15 PM CDT

Dow Jumps 28, Ends at 2009 High

(Newser) - Markets were mixed today, but the Dow closed at its highest end point in 2009 even as tech and material stocks pulled down other indices, the Wall Street Journal reports. The resurgent dollar cut deeply into the commodities sector. A NYSE computer malfunction also temporarily halted trading in some stocks....

Bond Sales Drive Dow Up 32
 Bond Sales Drive Dow Up 32 
MARKETS
Jun 11, 2009 3:16 PM CDT

Bond Sales Drive Dow Up 32

(Newser) - Markets were up today on a successful sale of 30-year Treasury notes and other indicators of economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reports. Bank of America saw a 9% upswing after its CEO testified on Capitol Hill. The Dow gained 31.90 to 8,770.92. The S&P rose...

Economists See High Unemployment Through 2010

(Newser) - Economists think the US unemployment rate will stay above 9% through 2010, the Wall Street Journal survey finds. Accordingly, those in the know believe the Federal Reserve will hold interest rates down at least through spring. “For real people, there is no recovery until the unemployment rate stabilizes,”...

Feds Put 'Gun to Head' of BofA's Lewis on Merger

(Newser) - Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson may have leaned on Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis too heavily last year when he tried to back out of a deal to acquire Merrill Lynch, say congressional investigators. In fact, a GOP briefing document says the two Bush officals "put a gun...

T-Note Auction Puts Dow Off 24
 T-Note Auction Puts Dow Off 24 
MARKETS
Jun 10, 2009 3:11 PM CDT

T-Note Auction Puts Dow Off 24

(Newser) - Markets fell today as an auction pushed yields on 10-year Treasury notes higher, the Wall Street Journal reports. A 30-year sale is scheduled for Friday. “Higher interest rates are not good for anyone,” said one broker. “It’s going to kill the refinancing boom.” The Dow...

Treasury to Let 10 Banks Repay $68B in TARP Loans

(Newser) - The Treasury Department has given 10 banks—including Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, American Express, and Capital One—permission to repay their TARP loans, the Wall Street Journal reports. The government will recoup $68 billion faster than anticipated, but the money won’t go back into the public coffers; Tim Geithner...

Treasury Pushed Reluctant Chrysler Into Fiat Deal

(Newser) - The Obama administration foisted the Fiat alliance on Chrysler, brushing aside its concerns about Fiat’s financial health and unwillingness to share technology, the Wall Street Journal reports. E-mails filed during Chrysler’s bankruptcy proceedings show Fiat ignoring requests for documents, reluctant to ante up funds, and attempting to change...

New SEC Chair Stakes Out Her Territory

Schapiro moving decisively to overhaul troubled agency

(Newser) - As soon as she took over the SEC, Mary Schapiro started making changes. She scrapped rules that had hindered investigators, hired a new enforcement director, and refocused regulators on high-profile financial crisis-related cases. “I wanted to be clear from my first day—not just with words, which are pretty...

Obama's Financial Regulation Plan Nearly Ready

(Newser) - The Obama administration is finalizing a legislative proposal that would strengthen the reach of financial regulatory agencies, the New York Times reports. The plan wouldn’t likely consolidate the four major bank regulators, which could meet with fierce opposition in Congress. “I don’t mind overlap as much as...

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