Billions add up fast

By Jeff Harrington, Times Staff Writer
In print: Tuesday, November 18, 2008

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So who gets a slice of that $700-billion federal taxpayer bailout of the financial services industry?

On Monday, news spread that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson would leave half the money in the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) for the incoming Obama administration to dole out. Most of the other $350-billion is already spoken for. The Treasury Department used the first $125-billion to buy preferred stock in nine big banks. Another $125-billion was set aside to buy stock in small and midsized banks, which had until Friday to apply. So far, about 60 — including several active in Florida — have said that they have been approved. AIG is the only nonbank to receive TARP money, though the $40-billion is only one part of a larger bailout of the troubled insurance giant. The program does not, at least for now, include money for U.S. automakers.

The $700 billion bailout so far

$60 billion: Still unused.

$40 billion: To American International Group (AIG).

$125 billion: To nine major banks authorized on Oct. 28:

• Bank of America, $15-billion

• Bank of New York Mellon Corp., $3 billion

• Citigroup,$25 billion

• Goldman Sachs, $10 billion

• JPMorgan Chase, $25 billion

• Morgan Stanley, $10 billion

• State Street Corp., $2 billion

• Wells Fargo & Co., $25 billion

• Merrill Lynch & Co., $10 billion

$125 billion: To at least 60 smaller public banks, including several active in Florida:

• SunTrust, $3.5-billion

• Regions Financial, $3.5-billion

• Fifth Third, $3.45-billion

• BB&T, $3.1-billion

• Marshall & Ilsley, $1.7-billion

• Northern Trust, $1.5-billion

• Whitney Holding Corp., $282-million

• Bank of Florida, N/A

$350 billion: To be available for the Obama Administration.

Beyond the $700-billion: other bailouts

American International Group: $112-billion in government loans and assistance (on top of the $40-billion in TARP funds)

Automakers: $25-billion in government-backed loans to prod them to retool their factories; a bigger bailout is still under discussion

Freddie Mac: $13.8-billion cash injection from the government last week and analysts say it may need $30-billion to $50-billion next year.

Comments on this article

by John	Nov 19, 2008 4:06 PM
Why is the bulk of the money going to Stock firms and banks who created this problem in the first place. I don't see where any of this money is going to help the average consumer. I think that all these firms and banks should get zero funds.