Well it's not! $4 Billion is just over 1/2 of 1 percent of what we, the taxpayers "loaned" the banks. If we had loaned that money even at 2.5% for 30 years we should have been paid back $17.5 Billion in INTEREST ALONE this year. The banks should have coughed up more than $33 Billion in P&I!!!
And lest I forget, they call this "profit"? If I was the lender (and, damn it, I am!!)I'd be looking at this "loan" as a lost cause. There's no "profit" here! We handed out $700 Billion and got $4 billion back and somehow or other that's "profit"?? ONLY the NY Times with their illustrious Mr. Krugman could figure out a way to claim that there is "profit" in this equation.
I should really change my accounting practices. /s
I would be making billions according to their figures.
Let me rephrase this article:
The U.S. government fleeced banks who neither needed or wanted stimulus money for $4 billion.
If the US government is now turning a profit, I assume that I will be receiving my share in the mail any day now. Yes? [/s]
Given the sheer amount dished out for the bank bailouts, $4 billion in return is BS.