We are occasionally reminded of the 2008 financial meltdown and its aftermath, and the taxpayer-funded bailouts of banks, insurance companies and an automobile manufacturer or two. The massive bailout, $633 billion approximately, was paid out to 982 entities. $633 billion went into TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac received $192 billion of that.
Of those recipients, 780 were obligated to pay back the money. The rest, totaling $29.9 billion, received direct subsidies for TARP’s housing programs.
But who’s keeping track?
ProPublica is. For more than a decade, the non-profit news organization has tracked disbursements and inflows of TARP and its individual recipients.
Where the money went:
- $245 billion – banks & other financial institutions
- $192 billion – Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
- $ 80 billion – automobile companies
- $ 68 billion – AIG
- $ 30 billion – other miscellaneous (ProPublica tracks each)
- $ 19 billion – “toxic assets” purchases
What we don’t hear much about is that to date TARP has generated an overall profit of $116 billion:
- $390 billion – repayments
- $359 billion – interest, dividends and fees
Of course, there are a few deadbeats:
- General Motors – $11.3 billion unpaid
- Chrysler – $1.2 billion unpaid
- CIT Group – $2.3 billion unpaid
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac has repaid none of the $192 billion principal, but have paid $306 billion dividends.
And you might be wondering about the Crazy Woman Creek Bancorp of Buffalo, Wyoming. It generated $1.3 million profit for the U.S. Treasury on the $3.1 million advanced to it. You can drill down to the detail on you favorite financial institution and every other recipient of TARP largesse.
