Here is a bit of a longer story on the Four Banks.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/31/4-banks-become-first-to-repay-tarp-money/?ref=business4 Banks Become First to Repay TARP MoneyMARCH 31, 2009, 4:43 PM
Four smaller regional banks on Tuesday became the first financial institutions to return the federal money they had received under the government’s banking bailout, leaving a program that placed restrictions on their executive compensation and other spending.The banks — Signature Bank of New York; Old National Bancorp of Evansville, Ind.; Iberiabank of Lafayette, La., and Bank of Marin Bancorp of Novato, Calif. — said they had bought back a total of $338 million in their preferred shares, which had been sold to the government in the fall under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, in exchange for capital.
A number of banks have been chafing under the restrictions imposed by TARP. Northern Trust of Chicago said in February that it would repay more than $1.5 billion “as quickly as prudently possible” after a hail of criticism from Capitol Hill over its lavish entertainment spending at a golf tournament in suburban Los Angeles.
Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are among the biggest banks that have said they are aiming to return the government’s bailout money.
The big banks were told in the fall by then-Treasury Henry M. Paulson Jr. that they were required to accept TARP money in order to strengthen the banking system, which had been severely shaken by the global financial crisis. But President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, enacted in February, changed the rules to allow banks to pay back the money ahead of schedule. It also tightened the restrictions on bonuses and other spending.
Signature Bank returned $120 million to the Treasury. It said the tightened restrictions on TARP money “adversely affected our business model.”
“It became apparent that we should return these funds to the Treasury,” Joseph J. DePaolo, Signature’s chief executive, said in a statement. “The return of these funds allows us to continue to execute our business model, which includes the successful recruitment and retention of highly talented banking professionals throughout the metropolitan New York area.”
Old National returned $100 million after performing what it said was “a rigorous stress test on the company’s balance sheet and earnings.” It asserted in a statement that it was “well positioned to withstand current and future economic challenges.”
Iberiabank, the first bank to apply to leave TARP, returned $90 million. “We are pleased to be among the first financial institutions to pay back the Treasury’s TARP investment,” Daryl G. Byrd, the bank’s chief executive, said in a statement.
Bank of Marin returned $28 million. “Given the operating restrictions we experienced as a participant, we believe this decision is in the best interest of our customers, shareholders and employees,” Russell A. Colombo, the bank’s chief executive, said in a statement. “We feel we are well positioned to continue lending in our community without additional capital support.”
