$78 bln overpaid under TARP

According to the head of a congressional oversight panel for the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) the U.S. Treasury have overpaid financial institutions $78 billion in carrying out capital injections last year.

Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard law professor, told at a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee that in 2008 the Treasury had paid $254 billion in for the stocks and warrants worth about $176 billion according to the estimations of her group. She criticized the Treasury by saying “They described the program one way, and they priced it another.” Moreover, she said Treasury may have had a reason why investments were overpaid.

Daniel Akaka, Democratic Sen. of Hawaii commented on the implementation of TARP by saying it was proceeded “in a chaotic, unorganized and ad hoc manner.”