BofA repays $45B in government bailout funds

I don't believe they needed the money in the first place. They were afraid to put their own capital on the line due to the global economy failing and people not being able to pay back loans given out. If I were a bank, and I saw that going on, I might have been pretty scared, as well. Everyone losing their jobs, it would only be a matter of time before foreclosures and repossessions ran rampant.

So, my suggestion to anyone who is part of a bank is this: Join a credit union. In a credit union, the members are the owners. In a bank, it is owned privately. A credit union tends to take care of their members a lot more than that of a bank.

The banks(at least most of them) never technically needed the money.

As you can see almost half is already paid back.

and the interest? why dont those f&c&k sh!ts pay up as well!

Treasury also made $6.79 billion in dividends from the TARP money and $2.90 billion selling warrants.

That is where the extra money. The Treasury received almost $10 billion on top of what they banks paid back. Plus, it still holds the warrants which it can sell and make more money.

You realize the money the government lent the banks was borrowed money to begin with, right? So, technically we still can't pay that 30 billion dollars for the troop surge, and like hell the government will ever have money left over.

Wouldn't you rather them pay back your government? Why not kill two birds with one stone? First bird: You get the goverment's presence out of yet another business. Second bird: If BOA is run into the ground again, do you think the government will help them out again? Seriously, think of the public outcry that would commence.

There is a reason they have to ask permission to pay back money.

Wow, how ambiguous. If you are going to state something like that, why not tell us the reason? That is like saying "I have information for you," then turning around and walking away.

Sorry Momus. That comment wasn't for you.

I was trying to exert minimal effort to get Man thinking about the purpose and use of TARP funds. Banks can't and shouldn't 'loan it out.'

I understand. I only wrote that last message in this thread to get another comment out of you. I like it better when people explain themselves completely and clearly. My apologies if it offended you in any way.

Thanks, no offense taken :)

One of the main purposes of TARP was to ease credit and get banks lending again to stimulate the economy. Capital in and of itself does nothing but secure the bank from failing. For the public to really benefit from the money they lent the banks, the banks have to lend it out.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aqLT6v88t.Jo

If they pay it back, then they will go back to their previous bad habits.

Banks should earn their income from wise lending, not from speculating and charging exorbitant fees to their depositors, which is what they do now. That is what got them into trouble in the first place.

One of the main purposes of TARP was to ease credit and get banks lending again

Correct, by securing bad assets. TARP money was designed as 'insurance' because liquidity was deemed too low, not because banks don't have money to lend.

Banks should earn their income from wise lending, not from speculating and charging exorbitant fees to their depositors, which is what they do now.

I agree.

To bad the CEO's can't pull their heads out of their A$$ long enough to figure that out because it seems they still think that screwing the customer comes first.

So you believe the banks are trying to avoid a deflationary spiral? Many believe the best way to approach this is by stimulus. The central banks will either expand the money supply, or offer lower interest rates than the banks give. If you expand the money supply the banks lose out as their money will also have less value. If you offer lower interest rates than the private banks, the banks lose out on this, as well, as less people will deal with the banks, unless they reduce their interest rates. If they reduce their interest rates, they obviously don't make as much money.

My suggestion to you is to get yourself involved in a credit union. You really don't see problems like this with a credit union. They take care of their members more so than a bank.

I always stuck with credit unions until we moved. I'm looking for one now in my area and when I find it I am switching. Only reason I closed my account was because we moved to a different State.

I am in the same boat, Tony. I have recently left the Navy and I am still using Navy Federal Credit Union, which is the largest credit union in the world. I love Navy Fed, but I am going to have to find a local credit union, as Navy Fed doesn't have a branch where I moved after being discharged. I am still going to keep them, as they are a valuable resource.

I hear yah. I'm an Air Force Vet and I had my account with Langley Federal.

If you are retired, you may have the opportunity now to join Navy Federal. Navy Federal has opened their doors to the Army and the Air Force. You should check it out, then give this post a vote. :)

Don't have one in this area (I checked) so far the only one I've found is State Employee's and I don't work for the state. If I wouldn't lose out on my pay so badly I'd switch jobs just so I could join. There are suppose to be 2 others out here but I haven't been able to find the local Branch Office yet. I think one of them is about 25 miles away from my home looking at the address but I haven't had a chance to go by there yet.