Citigroup can pay back its TARP loans with money it would have owed in taxes. Wells Fargo got a similar deal last year as a sweetener for its purchase of Wachovia, but that was repealed by Congress. The Obama administration claims the president still has authority to cut this deal with “fat cat bankers” he has blamed for the financial mess.
While families have increased their saving and paid off credit cards by making due with less, the government has converted its loans to banks into tax credits. The bailout continues through other, less open and transparent, means
