Tales from Bailout Nation Pt. VII

There's a growing sense among some bankers that Troubled Asset Relief Program known as "TARP" has become toxic. As a result, they want to bail out of the bank bailout program.
"It should be called 'TRAP,' not TARP," said Brian Garrett, chief executive of Bank of the Bay in San Francisco, who is trying to return bailout funding. "Giving it back is harder than getting it."

So much for all the free market vs. socialism theoretical hooey, we now are starting to achieve real empirical evidence for why Bailout Nation is such a horrible idea.

Garrett and other bank executives complain the Treasury's program to stabilize banks during these turbulent times is actually weighing down their potential for growth.

They're especially concerned the limits on executive compensation - imposed in February, four months after Treasury starting sending out checks - could make it difficult to hold on to star talent who may jump to financial institutions that are not receiving any Government assistance.

"Things have changed since TARP was announced. The rules have changed," said Michael McMullan, CEO of the Bank of Florida, who withdrew his application for TARP funds Thursday. "We're going to need to attract and retain key revenue drivers and great bankers."

"The more restrictions that we are placed under from the Government, the less value we can deliver to our shareholders in the long run," said McMullan.

Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), Bank of New York/Mellon (BK, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500), JP Morgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500) - all 'mega-banks' that the government forced to take bailout money - say they want to return taxpayer funds "as soon as practical."

But, they're well aware no one will be permitted to return funds before completion of regulatory "stress-tests" of the major banks to determine how they would withstand a severe recession.

(italics, ours)

They can’t give the money back… even if they wanted to. And those bonuses over which everyone was so outraged - that was precisely the mechanism by which entities like AIG were going to retain their employees to help dig out of this mess but which is now evaporating into thin air as these employees don't need the hassle and don't need their neighborhoods cruised by union goon agitators.