Northern Trust: Still No Word on TARP Repayment

Nearly two months after the faux outrage over Northern Trust's sponsorship of a PGA tournament in February, the bank still has not been "granted permission" to repay the TARP funds which it doesn't want and doesn't need. Its president and CEO Frederick Waddell said:

"...we are continuing our dialogue with the Federal Reserve, in accordance with the prescribed process, to proceed on our objective of redeeming the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Capital Purchase Program preferred stock as quickly as prudently possible."

In other words, we can't get out of this damn TARP maze. For all you who think the government does not want a direct equity stake in all these banks on the cheap, think again. The federal government now seems to view the TARP as a way to play Tony Soprano with the most profitable companies in the U.S. and thereby fund their grand spending wish lists.

The WSJ summed it up best:

Giving Barney Frank more voting power is more likely to induce panic than restore confidence.

Unfortunately, Obama just caused another panic attack with this back door nationalization scheme.