Special Inspector General for TARP

Program Summary by Budget Activity

Dollars in thousands

Summary

The 2013 President’s Budget request for the 

Special Inspector General for Troubled Asset 

Relief Program (SIGTARP) includes funding 

to support and complement the Department of 

the Treasury’s strategic goals (1) to repair and 

reform the financial system and support the 

recovery of the housing market by assessing 

the effectiveness of Treasury’s activities and 

evaluating whether Troubled Asset Relief 

Program (TARP) recipients are satisfying their 

legal obligation and (5) to manage the 

government’s finances in a fiscally responsible 

manner as they relate to TARP.

SIGTARP’s top priority is to promote 

transparency in the management and operation 

of TARP, ensuring the satisfaction of the 

public’s right to know how Treasury decides 

to invest the public’s money, how it manages 

the assets it obtains, and how TARP recipients 

use these funds. 

SIGTARP’s mission is to advance economic 

stability by promoting the efficiency and 

effectiveness of TARP management, through 

transparency, through coordinated oversight, 

and through robust enforcement against those, 

whether inside or outside of Government, who 

waste, steal or abuse TARP funds.

SIGTARP views its oversight role 

prospectively, retrospectively, internally, and 

externally. Prospectively, SIGTARP, among 

other things, advises Treasury on issues 

relating to compliance, internal controls and 

fraud prevention. Retrospectively, SIGTARP 

assesses the effectiveness of TARP activities 

over time and suggests improvements. 

Internally, SIGTARP’s oversight role reaches 

to Treasury officials and to other government 

employees who manage TARP-related 

programs. Externally, it reaches to the 

recipients of TARP funds, the other private 

participants in TARP-related programs and to 

vendors that have been retained to assist 

Treasury in implementing TARP. SIGTARP

Appropriation FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013

 Enacted Enacted Request $ Change % Change

Audit $11,593 $14,626 $14,075 ($551) -3.77%

Investigations $24,634 $27,174 $26,150 ($1,024) -3.77%

Subtotal, Special IG for TARP $36,227 $41,800 $40,225 ($1,575) -3.77%

Available no-year funds - S&E $1,557 $2,536 $4,846 $2,310 91.09%

Available PPIP funds $1,287 $1,264 $1,719 $455 36.00%

Total Program Operating Level $39,071 $45,600 $46,790 $1,190 2.61%

Direct FTE 192 192 192 0 0%

Total FTE 192 192 192 0 0%

Activity FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013

 Enacted Enacted Request $ Change % Change

Audit $12,990 $15,956 $16,373 $417 2.61%

Investigations $26,081 $29,644 $30,417 $773 2.61%

total SIGTARP by Budget 

Activity $39,071 $45,600 $46,790 $1,190 2.61%

Direct FTE 192 192 192 0 0%

Total FTE 192 192 192 0 0%

FY 2012 TO FY 2013

FY 2012 TO FY 2013
also plays a significant external coordinating 

role among TARP oversight bodies both to 

ensure maximum oversight coverage and to 

avoid redundant and unduly burdensome 

requests on Treasury personnel who manage 

the programs.

SIGTARP FY 2013 Budget Highlights

Dollars in thousands

Special IG for TARP FTE Amount

FY 2012 Enacted 192 $41,800

Changes to Base:

Maintaining Current Levels 

(MCLs):

- $333

Maintaining Current Levels - $333

Efficiency Savings: - ($1,992)

Operations Partially Funded 

from No-Year Resources

- ($1,992)

Subtotal FY 2013 Changes to 

Base

- ($1,659)

Total FY 2013 Base 192 $40,141

Program Increases: - $84

Council of the Inspectors 

General on Integrity and 

Efficiency

- $84

Total FY 2013 Request 192 $40,225

FY 2013 Budget Adjustments

FY 2012 Enacted

The FY 2012 enacted direct appropriation for 

SIGTARP is $41,800,000.

Maintaining Current Levels (MCLs) 

Maintaining Current Levels +$333,000 / +0 

FTE 

Funds are requested for inflation adjustments 

(1.7 percent) in non-labor expenses such as 

GSA rent adjustments, postage, supplies and 

equipment and health benefits and the increase 

in Federal Employees Retirement System 

participation. Funds are also requested for the 

proposed 2013 pay raise (0.5 percent).

Efficiency Savings

Operations Partially Funded from No-Year 

Resources -$1,992,000 / +0 FTE

Reduction in general operating cost reductions 

will occur from the annual account. In 

addition, SIGTARP will continue to use its 

mandatory funding.

Program Increases

Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity 

and Efficiency +$84,000 / +0 FTE

Funds requested for Council of Inspectors 

General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) 

will support coordinated government-wide 

activities that identify and review areas of 

weakness and vulnerability in Federal 

programs and operations with respect to fraud, 

waste, and abuse.

Explanation of Budget Activities

Audit ($14,075,000 from direct 

appropriations)

The Audit Division (AD) conducts, supervises, 

and coordinates programmatic audits with 

respect to Treasury’s operation of TARP and 

the recipients’ compliance with their 

obligations under relevant law and contracts; 

evaluates TARP policies and procedures; and 

provides recommendations to Treasury.

A particular focus of AD is ensuring that 

appropriate internal controls are in place and 

are complied with, both by Treasury in its 

management of TARP and by the recipients of 

TARP funds, including vendors and the 

entities in which money is invested. Where 

controls or compliance are found to be lacking, 

or where particular aspects or policies are 

found ineffective at reaching TARP’s goals, 

AD assists the Special Inspector General to 

fashion recommendations to resolve such 

issues.

Investigations ($26,150,000 from direct 

appropriations) 

Investigations Division (ID) supervises and 

conducts criminal and civil investigations into 

those persons and entities, whether inside or 

outside of government, who waste, steal, or 

abuse TARP funds. One of SIGTARP's 

primary investigative priorities is to operate 

the SIGTARP Hotline, thus providing a 

simple, accessible way for the American 

public to report concerns, allegations, 
information, and evidence of violations of 

criminal and civil laws in connection with 

TARP. From its inception in February 2009

through September 30, 2011, the SIGTARP 

Hotline has received and analyzed more than 

28,558 Hotline contacts. A substantial number 

of SIGTARP’s investigations were generated 

in connection with Hotline tips. The 

SIGTARP Hotline can receive information 

anonymously, and the confidentiality of 

whistleblowers is protected to the fullest extent 

possible.

Legislative Proposals

SIGTARP has no legislative proposals.

SIGTARP Performance by Budget Activity

Budget Activity Performance Measure FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011 FY 2012 FY 2013

Actual Actual Actual Target Target

Audit Percent of Recommendations 

Implemented (%)

100.0 43.0 50.0 70.0 DISC

Audit Percent of Recommendations 

Agreed to by the Office of Financial 

Stability (%)

N/A N/A N/A N/A 70.0

Investigations Percentage of Investigations 

Accepted by Prosecutors (%)

95.0 100.0 94.0 55.0 60.0

Key: DISC - Discontinued and B - Baseline

Percentage of Recommendations Implemented will be discontinued in FY 2013 and replaced with Percentage 

of Recommendations Agreed to by the Office of Financial Stability.

Description of Performance

In FY 2011 SIGTARP exceeded its 

performance goal, “Congressional Requests 

for Testimony” by completing five 

testimonies. SIGTARP anticipates that 

Congress will continue to have interest in 

SIGTARP’s work. The performance goal, 

“Completed Audit Products” includes audit 

reports and memoranda that promote the 

efficiency and effectiveness of the Troubled 

Asset Relief Program (TARP). In FY 2011 

SIGTARP completed 13 audit products 

exceeding the goal for this reporting period. In 

order to measure the impact of reports, 

SIGTARP measures the “percent of 

recommendations implemented”. In FY 2011 

50 percent were implemented by Treasury’s 

Office of Financial Stability (OFS). 

In FY 2011 SIGTARP referred 76 percent of 

“Hotline Complaints for Investigation or to the 

Office of Financial Stability within 14 days of 

Receipt”, exceeding the goal for this period. In 

FY 2011, the “Percentage of Preliminary 

Investigations Converted to Full 

Investigations” was 88 percent, exceeding the 

goal of 40 percent. This success is attributed 

to SIGTARP proactively identifying indicators 

of fraud, receiving more substantial case leads 

and complaint referrals as the Investigations 

Division (ID) has developed its identity as a 

premier “white collar crime” law enforcement 

agency. The “Percentage of SIGTARP 

criminal or civil investigations that a federal, 

state, or local prosecutor has formally accepted 

to prosecute” was 94 in FY 2011, exceeding 
the target of 55. SIGTARP ID coordinates 

closely with other law enforcement agencies 

with the goal of forming law enforcement 

partnerships across the Federal government to 

leverage SIGTARP’s expertise and unique 

position. The overall “percentage of cases in 

FY 2011 that were joint with other law 

enforcement agencies” was 40 percent, 

exceeding the target of 35 percent. This was 

primarily due the significant number of high 

profile cases opened in FY 2011.

It is expected that SIGTARP will continue to 

meet or exceed performance measures in 

FY 2012 and FY 2013.