Treasury Department Announces $14 Billion in TARP Funds to More Than 40 "Local" Banks

Continuing the "bailout," the Treasury Department has just announced the release of $14.77 billion in TARP funds to what it refers to as 43 "local" banks (listed below).

"Local" may be a misnomer, as the list includes $10 billion to Bank of America Corp., and more than $3 billion to American Express Company.

Let's hope that Congress and the Treasury Department make good on the promise to protect these taxpayer funds through effective oversight, meaningful restrictions, and whistleblower protections, and that Sen. Grassley's prediction that the qui tam whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act will be used vigorously to redress any fraud or abuse with TARP funds comes true.

Below are today's announced recipients of the funds:

Bank of America Corporation Charlotte NC $10,000,000,000
FirstMerit Corporation Akron OH $125,000,000
Farmers Capital Bank Corporation Frankfort KY $30,000,000
Peapack-Gladstone Financial Corporation Gladstone NJ $28,685,000
Commerce National Bank Newport Beach CA $5,000,000
The First Bancorp, Inc. Damariscotta ME $25,000,000
Sun Bancorp, Inc. Vineland NJ $89,310,000
Crescent Financial Corporation Cary NC $24,900,000
American Express Company New York NY $3,388,890,000
Central Pacific Financial Corp. Honolulu HI $135,000,000
Centrue Financial Corporation St. Louis MO $32,668,000
Eastern Virginia Bankshares, Inc. Tappahannock VA $24,000,000
Colony Bankcorp, Inc. Fitzgerald GA $28,000,000
Independent Bank Corp. Rockland MA $78,158,000
Cadence Financial Corporation Starkville MS $44,000,000
LCNB Corp. Lebanon OH $13,400,000
Center Bancorp, Inc. Union NJ $10,000,000
F.N.B. Corporation Hermitage PA $100,000,000
C&F Financial Corporation West Point VA $20,000,000
North Central Bancshares, Inc. Fort Dodge IA $10,200,000
Carolina Bank Holdings, Inc. Greensboro NC $16,000,000
First Bancorp Troy NC $65,000,000
First Financial Service Corporation Elizabethtown KY $20,000,000
Codorus Valley Bancorp, Inc. York PA $16,500,000
MidSouth Bancorp, Inc. Lafayette LA $20,000,000
First Security Group, Inc. Chattanooga TN $33,000,000
Shore Bancshares, Inc. Easton MD $25,000,000
The Queensborough Company Louisville GA $12,000,000
American State Bancshares, Inc. Great Bend KS $6,000,000
Security California Bancorp Riverside CA $6,815,000
Security Business Bancorp San Diego CA $5,803,000
Sound Banking Company Morehead City NC $3,070,000
Mission Community Bancorp San Luis Obispo CA $5,116,000
Redwood Financial Inc. Redwood Falls MN $2,995,000
Surrey Bancorp Mount Airy NC $2,000,000
Independence Bank East Greenwich RI $1,065,000
Valley Community Bank Pleasanton CA $5,500,000
Rising Sun Bancorp Rising Sun MD $5,983,000
Community Trust Financial Corporation Ruston LA $24,000,000
GrandSouth Bancorporation Greenville SC $9,000,000
Texas National Bancorporation Jacksonville TX $3,981,000
Congaree Bancshares, Inc. Cayce SC $3,285,000
New York Private Bank & Trust Corporation New York NY $267,274,000