[Summit] FOR OUR SAFETY

[marco pereira]

Since the banks do not want to talk about how they will use the money,  
Imagine if everyone takes his money from the banks?

That could me they listen us? This is more important than name some  
place.



Marco











CNN contacted the banks that were given the biggest chunks of the  
bailout: Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.

The latter received $15 billion as part of the federal Troubled Assets  
Relief Program (TARP).

Where the money went is not clear.

"We are using the TARP funds to build our capital and make every good  
loan that we can," Bank of America said. The bank said it expects to  
release more information in its fourth quarter earning report.

Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo each received $25 billion --  
the largest amount given to any bank.

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Wells Fargo said it can't provide any details until it releases its  
fourth quarter statement, though the bank said it intends to use the  
money to help customers avoid foreclosure.

Citigroup said it was using TARP money to help expand the flow of  
credit and had formed a special committee to oversee the TARP money.

JPMorgan Chase pointed out that it recently bought more than $1  
billion in Illinois bonds and plans to lend $5 billion to nonprofit  
and health care companies.

"What the banks have said largely is that we're using the money to  
stimulate the economy, to get the economy moving," said Sarah Binder,  
a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.  
"That's far, far too general to know what ... the banks are doing with  
the money."

The vague responses from the banks should not come as a shock, said  
one U.S. House Financial Services Committee member who opposed the  
bailout.

"One of the fundamental problems with the Wall Street bailout was the  
people who had caused the problem were never called in front of  
Congress to explain what they had done, what needed to be done," said  
Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a Michigan Republican.

Congress did not put conditions on the bailout money, leaving  
lawmakers to press the Treasury Department for transparency after the  
money was handed out.

Critics say Congress needs to demand conditions before the second  
round of bailout money is distributed.

Earlier this month, members of a key congressional committee blasted  
the Treasury for its handling of the bailout, saying it lacks  
appropriate measures to ensure the bailout is working. At a hearing  
held by the Financial Services Committee, chairman Barney Frank, D- 
Massachusetts, accused the Treasury of failing to address its  
obligation to address foreclosures and enforce lending obligations on  
banks.



The hearing served as a follow-up to two reports on how the Treasury  
has conducted its bailout program, including the Congressional  
Oversight Panel's report on TARP, as well as a GAO report delivered to  
lawmakers that called for more accountability and transparency.

Congressmen on both sides of the aisle used the scathing reports as a  
launching pad, lambasting the Treasury for a general lack of clarity  
about its strategy as well as a dearth of measures that ensure banks  
are using the bailout funds for their intended purposes.
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