By Becky Yerak
| The U.S. Treasury Department has made an 8.5 percent annualized return on the 49 banks that have exited the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the federal bailout program started in late 2008 to inject capital into banks in the hope of kick-starting lending.

Results from the analysis by SNL Financial, a tracker of bank industry data, were as of March 30. The government bought preferred shares and warrants in the banks through TARP’s capital purchase program and the target investment program.

The Treasury’s annualized return on investment from Chicago-based Northern
Trust Corp., which received $1.58 billion in TARP but which has since
repaid it, was 12 percent.

SNL considers a bank as having exited the program if it has completely redeemed
the preferred shares and repurchased the warrants. Institutions that
had warrants auctioned by Treasury are also considered to have exited,
as are institutions that became bankrupt.