Out of the original investment of $204.9 billion in 707 institutions under the TARP CPP program, the U.S. Treasury currently only holds its original investment in 44 financial institutions representing a total outstanding investment of $422 million. In other words, the Treasury still holds its investment in about 6% of the financial institutions invested in through the CPP program, but those institutions represent only 0.2% of the amount invested. As the U.S. has already collected $225.9 billion in total TARP CPP proceeds, the ultimate disposition of the remaining 44 financial institutions will have no material impact on the $20 billion gain recognized by the U.S. Treasury through the TARP CPP program.

The 44 remaining TARP CPP investments range from $1 million to just over $50 million, with an average original investment of $9.6 million.  35 of the 44 remaining institutions have missed dividend/interest payments, with a total of $72 million in missed dividend payments (which includes $20 million in missed non-cumulative dividends that the institutions have no obligation to repay).  Overall, the remaining portfolio investments have missed 11.5 quarterly dividend payments, but if you exclude the 9 institutions that remain current, the average investment has missed 14.5 quarterly dividend payments.

Out of the original investment of $204.9 billion in 707 institutions under the TARP CPP program, the U.S. Treasury currently only holds its original investment in 67 financial institutions representing a total outstanding investment of $641 million. In other words, the Treasury still holds its investment in about 10% of the financial institutions invested in through the CPP program, but those institutions represent less than 0.4% of the amount invested. As the U.S. has already collected $225.0 billion in total TARP CPP proceeds, the ultimate disposition of the remaining 67 financial institutions will have no material impact on the $20 billion gain recognized by the U.S. Treasury through the TARP CPP program.

The 67 remaining TARP CPP investments range from $470 thousand to just over $50 million, with an average original investment of $9.6 million.  53 of the 67 remaining institutions have missed dividend/interest payments, with a total of $106 million in missed dividend payments (which includes $20 million in missed non-cumulative dividends in which the institutions have no obligation to repay).

In addition to the 67 institutions where Treasury continues to hold the original CPP investment, the Treasury also holds common stock in four institutions in which Treasury originally invested approximately $386 million and trust preferred securities in one institution in which the Treasury originally invested $935 million.  The average remaining institution received $9.6 million in TARP CPP funds, has missed 10 quarterly dividend payments, and currently owes an additional $1.6 million in missed dividend payments.

As of May 3, 2013, the U.S. Treasury has completed auctions for TARP CPP investments in 126 financial institutions, representing an original principal investment of $2.7 billion.  The Treasury continues to hold TARP CPP investments in 159 financial institutions, representing an original principal investment of $4.9 billion.  (Note, the Treasury has already received over $17 billion more in repayments then it originally invested as part of the TARP CPP program; even if Treasury receives zero return on the remaining investments, it will still be a profitable investment for the Treasury.)

Out of the 53 investments that Treasury identified in December 2012 as having opted out of a pooled auction process, 17 remain in the possession of Treasury.  The Treasury provided another opportunity for participating institutions to opt-out of a pooled auction process through April 30, 2013.  While that deadline has passed, we do not sense any urgency to move forward with a pooled auction, particularly so long as the individual auctions continue to deliver good results for the Treasury.

In April, the U.S. Treasury completed its sixteenth round of individual auctions of TARP CPP securities.  By my calculations, Treasury has now completed auctions of its investments in 126 financial institutions, with auction sales totaling approximately $2.4 billion at an aggregate discount of approximately 15%.

The 126 institutions originally represented $2.75 billion in investments in U.S. depository institutions, ranging from investments as small as $430,000 to as large as $267 million.  When you combine the dividends that have been paid to the U.S. Treasury by these institutions, the Treasury has received a gross profit of approximately $110 million.  The fact that Treasury has recovered, in the aggregate, a profit on these investments is fairly remarkable, considering that 27 of the auctioned institutions had each missed four or more quarterly dividend payments.

As shown in the chart below (click on the chart for a larger version), the volatility of the discounts has increased significantly in the later auction rounds.

One item to keep in mind when looking at auctions results is the amount, if any, of outstanding unpaid dividends or interest.  While the intitial TARP CPP auctions included institutions that were current in their payment of dividends/interest (and purchasers were obligated to pay Treasury 100% of any accrued but unpaid dividends/interest at the time of purchase), subsequent auctions have included 27 institutions in which the institution has missed at least four quarterly dividend or interest payments.  In these instances, Treasury has not required the purchaser to pay to Treasury any amount for these unpaid dividends and interest payments, and purchasers will be entitled to retain any payments subsequently made.  Accordingly, in measuring the discount on these auctions, it is important to factor the unpaid dividends into the equation, either by adding the unpaid dividends/interest to the denominator (reflecting additional amounts owed to the holder) or subtracting the unpaid dividends from the numerator (assuming repayment in full of any unpaid dividends/interest).  Although Treasury has frequently insisted on 100% payment of unpaid dividends in the restructuring context, we believe adding the amount of unpaid dividends to the numerator more appropriately measures the potential returns to purchasers.

On December 19, 2012, the recipient of smallest TARP CPP Investment repaid Treasury in full.   Freeport State Bank got $301,000 under the TARP Capital Purchase Program, and repaid in full, including $61,900 in dividends and ’s main bank rescue–the tiniest sum among the 707 institutions that signed up back in 2008 and 2009.  Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, the bank’s chairman and CEO, Leon Drouhard, explained the critical role TARP played in stabilizing the economy during the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

“[TARP] has been a very important thing and it has been a beneficial thing . . . It’s always referred to as a bailout but it was actually an investment in the financial system of the country as far as I’m concerned–and that investment turned out to be a good investment for the Treasury, and the country and the banks involved.”

If all bailouts were as profitable as the TARP CPP program, much less as necessary to stabilize the entire financial system, perhaps the term “bailout” wouldn’t have a negative connotation.

On December 18, 2012, the Treasury provided an update on the wind down of the TARP bank investment programs and also announced the future auction of 53 TARP investments, approximately 25% of the remaining pool of investments.

As previously announced, Treasury is pursuing three basic options to exit the TARP program:  (1) waiting for banks to repay; (2) selling investments (typically by auction); and, in limited circumstances,  (3) restructuring investments to facilitate repayment or sale.  Since March 2012, Treasury has completed 91 auctions and had an additional 49 banks repay Treasury at par value.  Treasury indicated that, in the aggregate, its returns in the auctioned investments exceed the Treasury’s last estimate of their current value.

Treasury indicates that it will auction approximately two-thirds of the remaining institutions (or about 145 institutions) and expects the majority of the remaining banks to repay at par.

Treasury also provided a preview of banks that Treasury intends to auction starting late in January.  Treasury stated that it was making this early announcement as a large number of the banks in light of potential regulatory concerns for investors associated with these investments.  Specifically, Treasury indicates that, for a large number of the institutions, the TARP securities represent a large portion of the equity capital of the depository institution or that the institution is in arrears on dividend payments, causing the TARP securities to become voting securities, or both.  Either of these scenarios can cause ownership of the securities to be subject to the Bank Holding Company Act or the Change in Bank Control Act.

As of the April 18, 2012 Daily TARP Update, the Treasury disbursed a total of $204.9 billion under the TARP Capital Purchase Program, and has since received a total cash return of $216.2 billion.  Accordingly, without event taking into account the remaining CPP investments or the potential ramifications to the economy had the CPP program not been implemented, the TARP CPP program has been a financial success, resulting in an investment profit of over $11.2 billion to U.S. taxpayers.

However, according to the April 17, 2012 TARP Transactions Report, a total of 346 institutions still have an aggregate of $10.4 billion in TARP CPP investments outstanding, with the 14 largest remaining CPP participants representing over half of the remaining dollar investment.  Specifically, the 14 largest remaining investments represent 50.2% of the outstanding CPP funds, with an average investment of $373.9 million each. The remaining 332 investments represent just under $5.2 billion of the remaining investment, for an average investment in these institutions of $15.6 million.

The top 50 remaining investments represent $7.4 billion of the $11.2 billion still outstanding.  (The cut-off to be included in the top 50 remaining investments is $35 million.)  The other 296 investments total $3 billion, representing an average investment of just over $10 million per institution.

During the month of December, the Treasury completed rounds fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four, fifty-five, and fifty-six of TARP Capital infusions.  In these five rounds, which closed on December 4,  December 11, December 18, December 22, and December 29, respectively, the Treasury purchased a total of approximately $159 million in securities from 37 financial institutions (24 of which previously received a TARP capital infusion).  Through December 2009, the Treasury had invested in 709 institutions, totaling approximately $204.9 billion.

In these five rounds, First Community Financial Partners received the largest infusion, $22 million, and Valley Financial Group Ltd. received the smallest infusion, $1.3 million.

During the month of November, the Treasury completed rounds forty-nine, fifty, and fifty-one of TARP Capital infusions.  In these three rounds, which closed on November 6,  November 13, and November 20, respectively, the Treasury purchased a total of approximately $38 million in securities from 7 financial institutions (3 of which previously received a TARP capital infusion).  Through November 2009, the Treasury had invested in 696 institutions, totaling approximately $204.7 billion.

In these three rounds, Presidio Bank, San Francisco, California, received the largest infusion, $10 million, and Community Pride Bank Corporation, received the smallest infusion, $4.4 million.

Of note during the month of November, F&M Bancshares, HPK Financial Corporation, and Metropolitan Capital Corp., joined WashingtonFirst Bankshares, Inc. as institutions to receive a second investment from Treasury in connection with the TARP expansion for community banks.  F&M Bancshares received an additional $3.5 million and had already received $4.6 million; HPK Financial Corporation received an additional $5 million and had already received $4 million; and Metropolitan Capital Corp. received an additional $2.4 million and had already received $2 million.

During November, nine financial institutions (one of which had already re-paid a portion of its funds) re-paid their TARP capital investments: Bank of Ozarks, Inc. ($75 million), LSB Corporation ($15 million), Wainwright Bank & Trust ($22 million), Union Bankshares Corp. ($59 million), Midwest Regional Bancorp, Inc. ($700,000), 1st United Bancorp, Inc. ($10 million), Magna Bank ($3.5 million, approximately 25% of the outstanding amount), Frontier Bancshares, Inc. ($1.6 million), and Westamerica Bancorporation ($41.9 million, completing its repayment).  As of the end of November, 2009, 53 financial institutions had re-paid all, or some portion, of their TARP Capital investment, bringing the total amount re-paid to approximately $71 billion.  At the end of November 2009,  Treasury’s outstanding investment equaled approximately $133.7 billion.

As discussed in another post,  TARP has been extended until October 3, 2010. 

During the month of September, the Treasury completed rounds forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, and forty-five of TARP Capital infusions.  In these four rounds, which closed on September 4, September 11, September 18, and September 25, respectively, the Treasury purchased a total of approximately $141 million in securities from 14 financial institutions.  Through September 2009, the Treasury had invested in 687 institutions, totaling approximately $204.6 billion.

In these four rounds, Community Bancshares of Mississippi, Inc., Brandon, Mississippi, received the largest infusion, $52 million, and State Bank of Bartley, Bartley, Nebraska, received the smallest infusion, $1.7 million. 

During September, seven financial institutions re-paid their TARP capital investments: Valley National Bancorp ($125 million (approximately 42% of the initial investment)), Centerstate Banks of Florida ($27.9 million), Wesbanco Bank, Inc. ($75 million), Manhattan Bank ($1.7 million), CVB Financial Corp. ($32.5 million (25% of the initial investment)), F.N.B. Corporation ($100 million), and Westamerica Bancorporation (approximately $42 million (50% of initial investment)).  Valley National and CVB Corp. had already re-paid a portion of their TARP investments, and Valley National still has $100 million remaining.  As of the end of September, 2009, 42 financial institutions had re-paid all, or some portion, of their TARP Capital investment, bringing the total amount re-paid to approximately $70.7 billion.  At the end of September 2009,  Treasury’s outstanding investment equaled approximately $133.9 billion.