The Treasury Department Inspector General says it’s unlikely the taxpayer will recover all the money spent so far on the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP).
More ominously, the IG criticizes Treasury for a lack of transparency in disclosing just how the funds have been spent by recipients.
“We remain puzzled as to why Treasury refuses to adopt our recommendations to report on each TARP recipient’s use of TARP funds.”
Barofsky also said that Treasury also has refused to adopt regular disclosures of borrowers that fail to repay loans obtained through a Federal Reserve securities lending program aimed at easing pressures in consumer credit markets.
He also said the Treasury does not intend to disclose trading activities, holdings and asset valuations in so-called public-private investment partnerships that are being created to buy troubled assets. About three quarters of the $40 billion in nine funds will be supplied by the Treasury.
Gorilla says: “These are the known unknowns of our lives!”
