Tarp, U.s. Treasury | featured news

The Troubled Asset Relief Program calmed markets and underpinned the US economy during the financial crisis. But despite the US Treasury saying last week that Tarp would make a profit, the latest report suggests otherwise. The report said it was a "misconception that Tarp will make a profit".

Treasury updated its projections for the cost of the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program, saying that for the first time the amount of funds that has been returned to taxpayers exceeds $250 billion.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday moved to extend the government's $700 billion bailout fund into October 2010 and pledged to deploy no more than $550 billion of it.

With the wiring of nearly $10 billion to the Treasury, U.S. Bancorp and BB&T became the first large financial institutions to announce that they have repaid the government in full.

The U.S. Treasury estimates that there is about $134.5 billion left in its financial-rescue fund, which would mean that about 81% of the $700 billion program has been committed.