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Sen. Lincoln's proposed reform moves to the Senate floor for debate
By Ryan Sibley Apr 21, 2010 2:32 p.m.The financial reform legislation regarding derivatives voted 13-8 out of the Senate Agriculture Committee this morning and on to the Senate floor. It’s intended to fend off any future government bailouts and prohibit the risky behavior banks participate in that caused the 2008 financial meltdown. But of course, the very organizations that these new laws will affect are using their money and expertise to influence the lawmakers in charge of making reform happen.
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The bailout is investing again
By Ryan Sibley Mar 29, 2010 5:06 p.m.The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has started to grow again, after the Department of Treasury announced in December of last year the bailout would be coming to a close. Earlier this month, the Department of Treasury invested $21 million in small business loans with more investments to come that could total as much as $15 billion.
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Bailout watchdog criticizes home loan program
By Aisha Qidwae Mar 25, 2010 4:33 p.m.A year after the $75 billion program to reduce mortgage payments under the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) went into effect, a recent audit report criticized the outcome of the program as "disappointing." So far, out of the million trial mortgage modifications, under which homeowners can have their mortgage payment reduced for three months, only 168,000 loans have been permanently reduced falling drastically short of the 3 to 4 million initial goal of the Department of Treasury.
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The bailout makes a move towards transparency
By Ryan Sibley Mar 19, 2010 9:29 p.m.Today, in a huge win for transparency, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Manhattan ruled that the Federal Reserve Board must disclose records containing information about how it intervened to bail out banks during the financial crisis.
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Examiner calls for more transparency in TARP
By Bill Allison Apr 16, 2009 5:33 p.m.They mention Anu's report of how difficult it was just to get the names of the folks manning the TARP desk. The editorial is here. Key passage:
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Who's manning the TARP desk?
By Anupama Narayanswamy Apr 10, 2009 5:54 p.m.Less than half a dozen people are responsible for making the final decisions about which banks get part of the $700 billion in bailout money available through the Troubled Asset Relief Program, according to Department of Treasury officials. In response to a Freedom of Information Act request made by the Sunlight Foundation in January for the members of the TARP Investment Committee, a FOIA officer recently responded with just four names, including Assistant Secretary, Neel Kashkari; Chief Investment Officer, James Lambright; Acting Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets, Karthik Ramanathan and Acting Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, Ralph Monaco, all holdovers from the Bush administration.
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K Street Boom: At least 1,699 new clients in 2009
By Bill Allison Apr 1, 2009 6:21 p.m.Lobbying firms and special interests have filed nearly 1,700 new registration forms so far in the first quarter of 2009, according to a review of lobbying disclosure forms available online at the Senate Office of Public Records. As the federal government pumps up spending and intervenes in the troubled financial markets, K Street firms appear to have had no shortage of new business.
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A trillion here, a trillion there...
By Bill Allison Mar 31, 2009 9:33 p.m."History teaches us that an outlay of so much money in such a short period of time will inevitably attract those seeking to profit criminally," the Hill quotes Neil Barofsky, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, saying.
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Must everything be earmarked?
By Bill Allison Mar 29, 2009 1:45 p.m.Columnist George Will argues that the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 -- the bailout bill that set up TARP, is unconstitutional because it delegates legislative power to the executive branch:
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Making the bailout more transparent
By Bill Allison Mar 5, 2009 8:10 p.m.It's old news -- several trillion dollars ago -- but back in 2008 the Federal Reserve, Treasury and the FDIC started working in tandem on a series of measures to stabilize the financial system. The Federal Reserve's aid is doled our or loaned out in secrecy, despite the dogged attempts of Bloomberg News to pry loose the data; the FDIC has released some, thanks to a Freedom of Information Act request filed by our colleagues at SubsidyScope.com.
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Who's seeking A Piece of the Action?
By Bill Allison Feb 23, 2009 5:48 p.m.The bailout (the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, TARP, etc.) and the stimulus (the American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) are massive pieces of legislation with lots of moving parts. Thus, the more eyeballs on them and what's around them, the better.
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Treasury Taking a Bath on TARP
By Bill Allison Feb 17, 2009 5:55 p.m.Via twitter, via Right Org, comes this very cool way of tracking the Treasury Department's Troubled Asset Relief Program investments from Ethisphere -- almost like an S&P index of stocks of publicly traded firms that have received money from TARP:
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