So we've just had this non-news: *U.S. ALLOWS 10 OF BIGGEST BANKS TO REPAY $68 BLN OF TARP FUNDS *GEITHNER SAYS REPAYMENT `ENCOURAGING SIGN OF FINANCIAL REPAIR' I don't wanna provide any more fodder to the conspiracy theorists out there (I am not one of those myself), but has anyone considered the real impact of this trade? What I am referring to is, of course, the fact that the banks are repaying the loans with somewhat devalued dollars. Rough, back-of-the-envelope calculation suggests that the US taxpayer, in real terms, is out-of-pocket by more than $6bn on just this tranche.
Ha ha, they're paying the money back with huge profits they made from AIG being bailed out (if no AIG bail out, no Goldman bounty on the credit default swaps AIG sold - trillions worth). Taxpayers are losing a hell of a lot more than 6 billion. They're getting stuck with AIG, after pumping it full of 160 billion tax dollars, so it could pay Goldman and its ilk...