BAC Pays TARP Dividends of $713M

You're not likely to see much positive press about these payments on mainstreet media. They'll still be talking about the reported $12.8T 'spent' so far on government 'bailout' programs. Not alot of the media outleets will mention that one of the most hated programs, TARP, is beginning to pay solid dividends plus the paybacks are becoming more and more likely. The government might just actually make money on this and other programs. Such much for all that debt!

Bank of America (BAC) has now paid over $1.1B in dividends and is solidly on pace to pay back all of the $45B TARP funds given to BAC/ML by maybe next year. That would mean that the government would get in the $47-50B range back from BAC on a $45B investment. Remember all the noise about the bailouts. Maybe they'll correctly be called prudent investments going forward. If one of the supposedly worst programs is starting to pay dividends from one of the supposedly worst recipients, then maybe the other programs will turn out better then expected as well.

• Bank of America Corporation today said the Board of Directors has authorized approximately $713 million in dividend payments to the U.S. government under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

• As previously announced, Bank of America paid its first dividends totaling $402 million to the U.S. Department of the Treasury in February, reflecting the company's ongoing commitment to pay back taxpayers as quickly as possible.