This story appeared in Bank Digest.
The Treasury Department has announced that Chrysler Group LLC has repaid its outstanding Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) loans. Chrysler's repayment comes six years before the scheduled maturity of those loans in 2017. Chrysler repaid $5.1 billion in TARP loans and terminated its ability to draw a remaining $2.1 billion TARP loan commitment. In total, the Treasury has received $1.5 billion in interest and fees from Chrysler, including $865 million associated with the final repayment.
“Chrysler's early repayment of its outstanding TARP loans is an important step in the turnaround of this company and the resurgence of the auto industry,” said Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “Because President Obama made the tough decision to stand behind and restructure the auto industry, America's automakers are growing stronger, making new investments, and creating new jobs today throughout our nation's industrial heartland.”
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said, “All Americans should be proud of Chrysler's significant turnaround. Indeed, the swift actions taken by President Obama and the Democratic Congress not only made all three U.S. automakers more innovative and globally competitive, but saved more than 1 million American jobs.”