Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28) announced that banks have repaid 99% of disbursed funds from the successful Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), according to the Treasury Department. Taxpayers have recovered approximately $244 billion in TARP funds, including nearly half a billion dollars repaid last week.
 
Banks under the Capital Purchase Program have repaid the American taxpayer. Including dividends and interest, Treasury estimates this will provide a lifetime profit of nearly $20 billion to taxpayers.
 
“The half a billion dollars repaid last week, and 99 percent of the funds repaid by financial institutions who participated in TARP, are clear indicators that this program was successful,” Cuellar said. “Taxpayers made an investment to save the global financial markets.  We avoided another Great Depression, and now taxpayers are getting their money back with interest.”
 
The Troubled Asset Relief Program was created in 2008 to support struggling financial institutions to strengthen the financial sector during crisis and give relief to “troubled” assets that threatened to lead to widespread bank failures. TARP allowed the Treasury Department to purchase illiquid assets, such as mortgage backed securities, from banks to stabilize balance sheets and avoid further losses. Congressman Cuellar voted in favor of this legislation when it passed the House. TARP was signed into law by President George W. Bush in October 2008 and was a component of the government’s measures to address the subprime mortgage crisis and the resulting economic fallout.
 
In an effort to avoid a global financial meltdown, a total of $245 billion was invested to banks throughout the nation under the TARP Capital Purchase Program to assist in direct financial support.
 
“TARP will be remembered as one of the government’s most successful programs. TARP ensured economic stability and provided much-needed measures to advert a financial crisis,” Cuellar said. “With banks paying back money and financial industry leveling, I am confident this is another sign of our economy growing. We begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel, and although we have much more work to do to ensure long-term economic stability, we are on the right path.”

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