Troubled Asset Relief Program forced on banks

Troubled Asset Relief Program is forced on banks; Obama gonna make the new rules. Say, isn't the mess we're in partly because Barney Frank & his goons forced the banks to lend to anyone with a pulse, even if they could never repay the loan? This must be the Change [i.e. more of the same, but someone else in control] that DopeBama promised us.

There is no "A, R or P" in the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program, quipped U.S. Bancorp Chief Executive Richard Davis Tuesday morning in front of about 300 business people in Minneapolis.

"It's just troubled,"...

Excerpted:

Davis went on to say in his talk that while government officials marketed the program as a way to entice banks to lend again, TARP actually was designed to give solid banks like U.S. Bancorp some extra cash to buy weaker banks in the system. U.S. Bancorp did just that late last year when it acquired the assets of two failed banks in California, Downey Savings and Loan and PFF Bank & Trust.

"We were told to take it so that we could help Darwin synthesize the weaker banks and acquire those and put them under different leadership," he said. "We are not even allowed to mention that. ... We were supposed to say the TARP money was used for lending."

But Davis is talking about it now, he says, because he and others oppose current and future strings attached to the program. Davis didn't detail those strings, but he said he and some peers intend to voice their opinions to Washington, D.C., soon.

"Now they're punishing you for having the capital," he said, adding that he refuses to stand by and let his company become "collateral damage" in an attempt to nationalize the banks.

Davis touted U.S. Bancorp as a strong player in a weak industry, but also gave props to local competitors Wells Fargo & Co., TCF Financial Corp. and Bremer Financial.

"That's why this city will continue to come through this difficult time better than almost any major city in America," said Davis, who came to Minnesota from California. "We didn't get into the stupid stuff two years ago that would have impaired us from doing the normal stuff today. So there."

Davis also disclosed that a number of other states and cities have been working hard to lure U.S. Bancorp away from the Twin Cities, but assured the crowd that so long as he remains in charge, the company will stay right where it is. The company employs more than 10,000 people in Minnesota.

Near the close of his speech, Davis suggested that what the panic-stricken world needs more than ever now is a little bit of courage and some faith that it will get through this dark period.

OK, first go the banks; Health care - You're up!