The Bailout: Initiatives and Programs
Through two separate bills, Congress authorized the Treasury Department to spend a virtually unlimited amount to rescue the financial system. Through the $700 billion big bank bailout and an unlimited amount reserved for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Treasury Department has been doling out the money via an alphabet soup of different programs.
Below is a breakdown of the money promised or committed through those programs and a plain language description for each.
So far, $640.6 billion
has been announced and/or distributed between
13 programs.
To see how the money is split between all the 833 recipients, check out our master list.
$400 billion
($125.9 billion committed so far)
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, passed in July 2008, was a broad bill that launched a foreclosure relief program, overhauled regulation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,... More info...
Its piece of the $400B pie
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Promised: $125.9 billion
On Sep. 7, 2008, Fannie and Freddie were essentially nationalized: placed under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Under the terms of the rescue, the Treasury has invested... More info...
$698.8 billion
($540.4 billion committed so far)
With the $700 billion authorized by Congress in October 2008 via the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, the Treasury Department has been doling out the money via an alphabet soup of... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $204.89 billion
Most banks have gotten their money through this program. When the Treasury Department started the Capital Purchase Program in October 2008, Treasury officials insisted that it was not a bailout... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $81.35 billion
In mid-December of 2008, Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson stepped in to lend General Motors and Chrysler billions to prevent impending bankruptcy. Since then, the Treasury under Tim Geithner kept the... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $69.83 billion
The sole 'systemically significant' institution to get money through this program is AIG. On four separate occasions, the government has offered aid to AIG to keep it from collapsing, rising... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $48.5 billion
The administration's plan to stem foreclosures will provide incentives and payments to mortgage lenders and homeowners to promote mortgage loan modifications and other foreclosure alternatives (like short sales). The list... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $40 billion
Both Citigroup and Bank of America received $25 billion under the Capital Purchase Program. In both cases, they received additional aid, but since CPP is notionally for 'healthy' banks, it... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $30 billion
Addressing one of the roots of the financial crisis, the hard-to-value mortgages and asset-backed securities on banks' balance sheets, the program seeks to jump-start the market for these assets. Under... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
Promised: $30 billion
$30 billion would be transferred out of the TARP for this program, which would make investments in small and mid-size banks (those with less than $10 billion in assets), with... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
Promised: $30 billion
The program, a collaboration between the Fed and the Treasury, provides up to $200 billion in Fed loans to owners of top-rated asset-backed securities. The idea is to boost the... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $3.5 billion
With auto parts suppliers struggling as much as the auto companies themselves, this program, announced in March 2009, provides guarantees and financing for auto parts suppliers who might otherwise be... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $1.5 billion
This program will provide up to $1.5 billion to five states to fund "innovative measures to help families in the states that have been hardest hit by the aftermath of... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $780.2 million
The program is designed to provide cheap financing to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI): banks, thrifts or credit unions that operate in markets underserved by traditional financial institutions. The idea... More info...
Its piece of the $698.8B pie
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Promised: $0
This is another form of bailout for Citigroup and Bank of America. As part of the agreement in late November to help Citigroup, the Treasury agreed to backstop a $301... More info...
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