Bank of America Ready to Pay Back $45 Billion in Bailout Money

2 years ago

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Washington Reporter

Bank of America announced Wednesday that it will pay back the $45 billion it received from the Troubled Assets Relief Program, or TARP. The U.S. dollar and euro both rose in response to the positive news from America's largest bank.

"We appreciate the critical role that the U.S. government played last fall in helping to stabilize financial markets, and we are pleased to be able to fully repay the investment, with interest," Bank of America CEO Ken Lewis said in a statement.

The announcement underscored the speedy recovery of U.S. banks that received bailout funds. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday that the Obama administration is planning to "wind down" the $700 billion bailout program, and that the "substantial" remaining funds would be used to pay down the national debt.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and a number of smaller banks have already paid back the money they received from the government, netting the U.S. a profit of $4 billion by the end of August.

Filed Under: Economy, Wall Street

Tagged: bailout, bank of america, BankOfAmerica, banks, daily guidance, DailyGuidance, economy, finance, tarp, wall street, WallStreet

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