June 30, 2009 – The estimated subsidy rate for transactions made under the Troubled Asset Relief Program has risen by 4 percent, according to a recent report by the Congressional Budget Office. In January, the CBO estimated the subsidy rate – the percentage of the initial TARP disbursement that reflects the true cost to the federal government of purchasing shares of stock from financial institutions – to be 32 percent, based on $293 billion in transactions. In a June 17 report, the CBO subsidy rate estimate rose to 36 percent, based on $439 billion in transactions. The new estimate includes assistance to the auto industry and $70 billion in repayments by TARP recipients. Read more »