CORRECTION (9:57AM): The original title of this post was "Treasury: Bailout loans now fully repaid." That was incorrect. The news is that for the first time, there have been more bailout repayments than outstanding debt. The outstanding debt is still $190 billion. I regret the error.
Original post (see correction above):
According to new figures released by the Treasury Department, bailout loans financed by taxpayers under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) have now been fully repaid. The Wall Street Journal reports:
WASHINGTON—The Treasury Department on Friday said the money repaid to taxpayers for government funds used to bail out U.S. companies has for the first time surpassed the amount of loans.
The Treasury, in its May report to Congress on the Troubled Asset Relief Program, said TARP repayments reached $194 billion, $4 billion more than the outstanding debt of $190 billion.
According to the Treasury statement, the bailout program has generated an additional $23 billion in revenue for taxpayers, bringing the total to $217 billion. Treasury now estimates the total cost of the bailouts will be just over $105 billion, a dramatic decrease from their estimate of $341 billion last August.