The Bank of America (BofA) has repaid the US government the entire bailout money of $45 billion. The Department of the Treasury announced yesterday that it has received full repayment on its Troubled Asset Relief Programme (TARP) investments in Bank of America in the sum of $45 billion.
With this the federal exchequer has so far received a total of $116 billion of its bailout money. "Treasury now estimates that total bank repayments could reach up to $175 billion by the end of 2010, cutting total taxpayer exposure to the banks by almost three-quarters from the peak," the statement said.
The Department said it estimates that every one of its programmes aimed at stabilising the banking system – the Capital Purchase Programme, the Targeted Investment Programme, the Asset Guarantee Programme, and the Consumer and Business Lending Initiative -- will earn a profit thanks to dividends, interest, early repayments, and the sale of warrants.
Total bank investments of $245 billion in FY'09 that were initially forecast to cost $76 billion are now projected to bring a profit of $19 billion.
"Taxpayers have already received about $15 billion in revenue through interest, dividends, and the sale of warrants, and that profit could be considerably higher as Treasury sells additional warrants in the weeks ahead," it said.