Bailout Banks Grows to 26

by Paul Kiel, ProPublica - October 27, 2008 4:39 pm EST

Getty Images Which banks are getting the Treasury Department’s billions? As we noted earlier today, a slew of regional banks have signed up for the government’s capital injection program, but the government is not saying which banks are getting taxpayer money.

Based on news reports and press releases, we’ve cobbled together a partial list, totaling 26 banks at an overall investment of approximately $160 billion. According to reports, the Treasury Department has approved at least 28 banks – meaning that there are two that, as far as we can tell, haven’t been made public. If you know who we’re missing, please drop us a line. Here’s our list:

Amount (millions)	Bank	Date announced
$25,000	Bank of America	10/14/08
$3,000	Bank of New York Mellon	10/14/08
$3,100	BB&T	10/27/08
$3,550	Capital One	10/27/08
$25,000	Citigroup	10/14/08
$395	City National	10/27/08
$2,250	Comerica	10/27/08
$3,400	Fifth Third	10/27/08
$866	First Horizon National	10/24/08
$186	First Niagara	10/27/08
$10,000	Goldman Sachs	10/14/08
$1,400	Huntington Bancshares	10/27/08
$25,000	JP Morgan Chase	10/14/08
$2,500	KeyCorp	10/27/08
$10,000	Morgan Stanley	10/14/08
$1,500	Northern Trust	10/27/08
$150	Old National Bancorp	10/27/08
$7,700	PNC	10/24/08
$3,500	Regions Financial	10/24/08
$2,000	State Street	10/14/08
$3,500	SunTrust	10/27/08
$298	UCBH Holdings	10/27/08
$330	Valley National	10/24/08
$200	Washington Federal	10/27/08
$25,000	Wells Fargo	10/14/08

In the last several days, the Treasury has reportedly approved some 20 regional banks to participate, added to the eight national banks that joined two weeks ago, that should make 28.

A refresher: Under the terms of the program, the Treasury’s money is technically invested as preferred stock, though it’s essentially a loan, returning 5% per year (after five years, the rate rises to 9%). The government is also given common stock warrants worth 15% of the investment.

In their press releases touting the investment, the banks have tried to play it cool, insisting that while they're happy to have the cash, of course they don't need it.

Most stress that they have no real need of the money, but couldn’t resist the attractive terms. A number boast that they are among the most strongly capitalized banks in the country, These banks tend to say that they’ll use the money to increase lending, protect against bad times, and buy up weaker banks.

Others trumpet the Treasury’s investment as a blessing that they are a “healthy” bank. (UCBH’s CEO: "This is an enormous statement of confidence and demonstrates that we are a healthy financial organization that can help support the U.S. financial markets in this time of economic turmoil.")

And then there’s what you might call the patriotic reaction. A handful of banks proclaimed themselves honored to do their part for the U.S. economy.

Interested in what Paul Kiel is reading today? Read the articles around the Web he’s sharing.

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Bailout Banks Grows to 26

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