TARP Index is Down $148 Billion

[girl gone mad]

Slightly better than May, but projected to get worse in the coming months...

TARP Index is Down $148 Billion
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/07/tarp-index-is-down-148-billion.html">Naked Capitalism

Didn't Henry Paulson promise us the TARP was an investment and the taxpayer might even show a profit? Shows the dangers of buying what an ex-Goldmanite is selling.

The TARP losses, as estimated by Ethisphere, are $148 billion as of June 19, so it is a bit dated. The flip side is I am hearing word that we may have more money disappear into the AIG black hole in the coming months. Since AIG has only used $134 billion of the $180 billion authorized (only with AIG and the DoD can you say something like "only $134 billion"), another leg down may not mean an increase in the commitment.

The TARP tally presents its methodology and has a sense of humor. For instance, it has a category of "Calamity Investments" ( Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and AIG).

From http://ethisphere.com/ethisphere-tarp-index-report">Ethisphere:

According to the Ethisphere TARP Index, when markets closed on Friday, June 19, 2009, the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) investment was down approximately $148.2 billion. Created by the Ethisphere Institute, a non-partisan research think-tank, the Ethisphere TARP Index tracks the U.S. Federal Government’s return on its investments under the capital purchase portion of TARP and the government’s accompanying loan guarantees provided to Bank of America and Citigroup. With ten of the nation’s leading banks now having paid back their TARP funds, these investments stand at $510.7 billion. To date, each taxpaying household has lost $1,233.

“The $68 billion pay back of TARP funds caused a drop in the bottom line of the Ethisphere TARP Index, but the overall percent decline didn’t see much change,” said Stefan Linssen, Managing Editor of Ethisphere Magazine and one of the lead research analysts behind the Ethisphere TARP Index. “Aside from the large asset guarantees of Citigroup, the last big heavyweights in the Index now are Bank of America, AIG, Citigroup’s CPP money and Wells Fargo, and unfortunately, they are still weighing down the Index. However, with the pay back of TARP money this past week, taxpaying households did see a decrease in the losses they have suffered under TARP, going from $1,361 to $1,233.”