
Originally Posted by
Eric Stoner
Many banks including a lot of the "biggies" are desperately trying to pay back the TARP money they took asap. Some smaller banks already have. Some are being held up because the taxpayers own warrants for their stock.
If the purpose of the TARP was to prevent a banking collapse and if many recipients were talked into taking it by Paulson, mostly so Citicorp and BOA would not stick out like sore thumbs, then it's purpose, for the most part , has been accomplished.
The fly in the ointment are those warrants entitling the U.S. government to buy stock in the banks. As the stock price of trhe banks has gone up, the value of those warrants has increased and the price of buying them back has also increased.
If there was any doubt that Obama and Geithner's prime objective was control over the banks, it has been put to rest. It's not good enough for the banks to pay back the TARP money; even with a healthy premium. Geithner and Obama want to hang on to those warrants to exercise control just like they control GM and Chrysler.
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