Senate Oversight Hearing: Troubled Assets Relief Program

Oversight of the Troubled Assets Relief Program – The witness was The Honorable Timothy Geithner, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Treasury.

Statement by Timothy F. Geithner U.S. Secretary of the Treasury before the Senate Banking Committee, May 20, 2009: “Today, just four months into President Obamas term of office, there are important indications that our financial system is starting to heal. For example, spreads for investment grade corporate bonds have fallen about 210 basis points and spreads on high yield corporate bonds are down about 770 basis points since the end of November. Spreads on AAA municipal bonds have come down 150 basis points since October. Risk premiums in short-term, inter-bank markets have fallen 280 basis points over roughly the same period and the cost of credit protection for the largest U.S. banks has fallen by about 180 basis points just since early April. Treasury is continuing to look into additional metrics that gauge the markets more broadly, as well as additional economic metrics, to determine the effectiveness of the current strategy and whether additional or different steps are needed.”

Senate Oversight Hearing: Troubled Assets Relief Program

Thank you!