Today the Office of the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) released a report discussing how TARP recipients have used the funds they've received so far. The report, Survey Demonstrates that Banks Can Provide Meaningful Information on Their Use of TARP Funds, discussed 360 banks that were surveyed about how they had used TARP funds. Most banks had not tracked their dollar-per-dollar TARP spending, but the majority of the funds were used for lending, capital reserves, and investments. SIGTARP mentions that it "did not attempt to verify independently the accuracy of the statements made by the banks."
Although a Washington Post headline on this report announces, "Banks Misused TARP Funds," the SIGTARP report does not appear to make such claims about these banks. Instead, it faults the U.S. Department of the Treasury for failing to require that all TARP recipients
report on their use of TARP funds, as SIGTARP had previously recommended (see the conclusion of the SIGTARP report).
Want more resources about financial oversight? See the June 30 Financial Stability Oversight Board Quarterly Report to Congress or the library guide to economic crisis and stimulus.
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