Where Did the Money Go?

The current Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program ("SIGTARP") is working to begin a formal audit of the TARP as a result of the lack of transparency into how the initial funds have been utilized by financial institutions.  The head of SIGTARP, Neil Barofsky, detailed his concerns last Thursday in a letter to Charles Grassley, the ranking member of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.  Here is an excerpt from that letter.

"the current lack of transparency with respect to what recipients are doing with the money could hamper the ability of SIGTARP - as well as the other oversight bodies and of Congress -  to assess the effectiveness of various TARP initiatives over time.  In the context of a program this large and this important to the Nation's economic recovery, addressing the basic question, "Where did the money go?" is critical to credible and effective oversight of TARP."

Here is Senator Grassley's response to Mr. Barofsky's letter.

"The mindset expressed by the Special Inspector General in this letter gives me hope that greater transparency can be achieved for the taxpayers with the massive effort to rescue America's financial system. Lack of transparency, lack of accountability, and taking advantage of others were major factors in creating the financial crisis. The rescue effort won't succeed if it's got those same problems. I encourage the Special Inspector General to be as aggressive as possible in achieving full disclosure of how TARP dollars have been spent and will be spent so that program assessments can be made and future actions are as effective as possible."

Let's hope the SIGTARP finds an answer to their basic question quickly so that future funds are utilized in an efficient and effective way.