TARP Makes Profit For US Governement?

Here's the report from Reuters:

The U.S. Treasury’s sale of its remaining stake in American International Group Inc (AIG.N) will fetch $7.6 billion, bringing the government a total profit of $22.7 billion from its crisis-era bailout of the insurer.

The share offering will close the chapter on one of the most politically contentious rescues of 2008, which ultimately gave AIG up to $182 billion of government support.

At one point, the government estimated that it would never recover all of the bailout money, but as AIG restructured and returned to viability, it was able to repay the entire rescue fund plus generate a profit for U.S. taxpayers.

AIG said on Tuesday that the Treasury agreed to sell 234.2 million shares to investors for $32.50 apiece. The insurer said that Treasury has additional AIG warrants that it can sell to boost the government’s $22.7 billion of total returns so far.

Now here's the real kick in the teeth.  TARP was Bush's idea.  Bumbling Barry tried a repeat with the Stimulus package.  Of course it failed.

Comments

[Mr. Scott Ryan]

Lord have mercy.

Sell your soul to the devil for a 2.4% annualized rate of return.

AIG was nothing but a slush fund to bail out the banks at 100% on the dollar.

Taxpayers will forever get stuck with the risk from this day forth and the private "Big Five" will always get to reap the reward from this day forth.

But it is not a moral hazard because Bush did it.

I guess I can now sleep at night.