TARP Anecdote

I was talking to someone at a bank and he said the form needed to receive TARP funds was 4 pages. The form needed to pay it back, 16.

He also said that all new initiatives were being blocked until the TARP funds are paid back. That is, TARP is considered so harmful, that it is the number one dis-investment priority. Meanwhile, the Treasury is wary of letting banks pay the money back. New lending, necessary for actual economic growth, is being constrained by TARP debt.

The law of unintended consequences at work.