Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told a congressional oversight panel this morning that the cost of the federal financial rescue program will ultimately be only a “fraction” of the cost originally estimated by the Congressional Budget Office.
“We have brought stability to the financial system and the economy at a fraction of the expected costs,” Geithner said in prepared remarks for the hearing.
Recently, the CBO estimated that the TARP program will cost the government $25 billion, far lower than the original estimate of $350 billion, and Geithner suspected that the $25 billion estimate might be “too high.” Geithner further said the combined costs of efforts by the Federal Reserve and FDIC coupled with TARP and the losses inflicted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will amount to less than 1% of the GDP.
Full Story: Geithner Says Financial Recovery Amounts to ‘Fraction’ of Estimated Cost – Political Punch