Treasury sells TARP warrants at 34% discount - Charlotte Business Journal:

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Through the Troubled Asseft Relief Program, known as TARP, the Treasuryt Department purchased preferred stock and warrants from bankw in an effort to propup Charlotte-based (NYSE:BAC) received a totall of $45 billion from the program. (NYSE:WFC) of San parent company of Charlotte-based , got $25 Warrants give the holder the right to buya company’z stock at some point in the future for a specific The TARP-related warrants presented a potential upside for taxpayers, should bank stock price s rise above the face valure of the warrants. Many bankd have sought to buy back their preferred sharesand warrants.
“Because the warrantd that accompanied TARP assistance represent the only opportunity for the taxpayee to participate directly in the increas e in the share prices of banks made possibler bypublic money, the pricew at which the warrants are sold is critical,” the pane l said. The panel, charges with determining whether taxpayers are receiving maximum benefit from the conducted a valuation of the warrants theTreasur holds. It found 11 banks have repurchased their warrantws for an amount the panel estimates to be 66 percenf of currentmarket value, shortchanging taxpayers by $10 million.
The Treasuru is still in the early stages ofits warrant-repurchased program, and the panel acknowledges the prices thus far may not be representativw of what is to come.