Posted on 03/02/2009 3:09:48 PM PST by MplsSteve
Bill Cooper has said "thanks, but no thanks" to government money.
Citing changed terms, the chief executive of Wayzata-based TCF Financial Corp. said today that it has asked for permission to repay the federal government the $361 million it received last November from the U.S. Treasury under its Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.
"I don't want to be part of the new regulatory regime that's growing up around TARP," Cooper said in an interview. "Congress is now talking about putting their oar in the water on just about everything we do. That puts us at a competitive disadvantage."
TCF said it has sufficient funds to pay back the money and will not have to issue any additional common shares or other securities.
(Excerpt) Read more at startribune.com ...
Bill Cooper was the former head of the Minnesota GOP and is very astute in business matters. If he refused the money, there's a good reason for it.
My only hope is that other banks out there will say "Stop! I don't want this money! Take it back - now!"
Comments or opinions - anyone?
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It’s an offer from the Don.
Any bank that can survive without TARP is bullied into participating anyway so as not to expose the truly weak players who can’t afford to leave, thereby triggering a flight to those outside the TARP.
If this is true then why do some people on our side insist that banks were forced to take the welfare money? This story shows very clearly that this is not true.
There are a million things the government and Fed can do to make life miserable for a bank that doesn’t play ball. Possibly TCF is small enough that the big dogs think it can be let go, but the Wall Street players are forced to stay in whether they really want to or not.
LLS
I’ll say this for TCF: It’s a tightly run ship. One of the best small banks in the country. If Obama leaves his hands off, it should be one of the first to recover when times get better.
I’ll say this for TCF: It’s a tightly run ship.
And that is the problem. Success in the private sector is to be punished.
Woot! That’s my bank! =-)
Wells Fargo very publicly tried to turn the money down.
Somehow Obama’s goons forced them to take it.
For those that are interested, here’s a listing of where your tax money is going:
http://www.ustreas.gov/initiatives/eesa/docs/transaction_report_03-03-09.pdf
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