Hedge Funds Grab A Big Chunk Of Shares At TARP Auctions

Hedge funds, private equity firms and other private investors scooped up about 70% of the shares auctioned off by the U.S. government as the government divests its TARP investments in small banks. Three private funds won almost half the shares available at the auction.

Treasury winds down TARP

The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, was created in 2008 in response to the financial crisis. TARP provided operating capital from government funds to support important American industries when the banking system effectively frozen up. The Treasury has been gradually winding down its TARP investments for a couple of years, with the department starting to recover its TARP investments as early as 2009.