I dissed the entire bailout move and have now been proven beyond wrong. Who knows how we got to this point, but the return-on-investment has been dramatic.
From the link:
U.S. taxpayers earned an annualized 8.5 percent return from the government’s bailout of 49 financial firms, underscoring efforts by the industry to speed up repayments and warrant repurchases, according to a report by SNL Financial.
Firms such as Citigroup, (C) which still has common shares held by the U.S. Treasury Department, and rivals that have made partial redemptions were excluded from the analysis, SNL Financial said in a statement on Monday.
Proceeds from Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) warrant repurchases and auctions led to a surge in returns through March 30, SNL said. So far, since the start of the program in late 2008, 64 institutions have fully repaid government aid.
