Banks Plan To Repay About $68 Billion In Emergency TARP Bailout Funds

The fact that a number of banks are now in position to repay about $68 billion in TARP bailout funds proves the success of this emergency program that allowed many banks to survive. A few banks including GMAC and Wells Fargo have apparently not committed themselves to repayment of the TARP funds so far. And many banks continue to note continued problems with credit card defaults or nonpayments. And many consumers continue to ring up higher credit card totals as many consumers continue to use credit cards to survive through the bad economy.

But it is an important sign that the banks have been stabilized enough that they are now able to repay $68 billion in emergency TARP aid.

The federal budget deficit problem can certainly use this $68 billion to pay down part of the huge deficit. And $68 billion is a significant pool of cash to reduce the national debt.

While the economy still has many areas of concern and weakness, the emergency aid to the banks has proven itself to be a major success story here.