The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was created by the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA; P.L. 110-343 ) enacted on October 3, 2008. EESA was passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush to address an ongoing financial crisis that reached near-panic proportions in September 2008. Financial turmoil began in August 2007 when asset-backed securities, particularly those backed by subprime mortgages, suddenly became illiquid and fell sharply in value as an unprecedented housing boom turned to a housing bust. The Federal Reserve (Fed) stepped in with emergency measures to restore liquidity, temporarily calming markets. Losses in mortgage markets, however, continued and spilled into other markets. Financial firms eventually wrote down many of these losses, depleting their capital. Uncertainty about future losses on illiquid and complex assets led to some firms having reduced access to private liquidity, with the loss in liquidity being catastrophic in some cases. September 2008 saw the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, and the near collapse of AIG, which was averted with an $85 billion loan from the Fed. There was widespread unwillingness to lend in the financial markets because participants were unsure which firms might be holding so-called toxic assets now worth much less than previously estimated, thus making these firms unreliable counterparties in financial transactions. EESA authorized the Secretary of the Treasury (hereinafter "the Secretary") to either purchase or insure up to $700 billion in troubled assets owned by financial firms. EESA granted this authority for a maximum of two years from the date of enactment, meaning it expired on October 3, 2010. The general concept was that by removing such assets from the financial system, confidence in counterparties could be restored and the system could resume functioning. This authority granted in EESA was very broad. In particular, the definitions of both "troubled assets" and "financial institutions" allowed the Secretary wide latitude in deciding what assets might be purchased or guaranteed and what might qualify as a financial institution. EESA also included a number of oversight mechanisms and reporting requirements. EESA was later amended to strengthen its executive compensation requirements and to reduce the authorized amount to $475 billion. This report provides a brief outline of the programs created under TARP, changes made by Congress, and a summary of the current status and estimated costs of the program. It also provides an Appendix that contains detailed discussions of the individual TARP programs. Treasury reacted quickly after the enactment of EESA, announcing the TARP Capital Purchase Program on October 14, 2008, and several other programs followed. These programs can be broadly broken down into Bank Support Programs, Credit Market Programs, Other Investment Programs, and Housing Programs, with several programs under each heading: Capital Purchase Program (CPP). The CPP did not purchase the mortgage-backed securities that were seen as toxic to the system. Instead, it purchased preferred shares in banks. The resulting addition of capital, it was hoped, would allow banks to overcome the effect of the toxic assets while those assets remained on bank balance sheets. The CPP is now closed with no additional disbursements possible under the current program. Of the approximately $205 billion disbursed, $1.1 billion remains outstanding, $4.9 billion has been written off or recognized as a loss, and $26.95 billion in income has been received. Targeted Investment Program (TIP). This program provided for exceptional preferred share purchases and was used only for Citigroup and Bank of America. TIP is closed, with all $40 billion in disbursed funds repaid and $4.4 billion in income received. Asset Guarantee Program (AGP). The AGP, required by Section 102 of EESA, provided guarantees that were also part of the exceptional assistance to Citigroup and Bank of America. This program is closed, with the $5 billion in extended guarantees canceled, no funds actually disbursed, and $3.4 billion in income received. Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI ). The CDCI provided for lower dividend rates on preferred share purchases from banks that target their lending to low-income, underserved communities and small businesses. Many participants in the CDCI converted into the program from the CPP. The CDCI is closed with no additional disbursements possible under the current program. Of the $0.57 billion disbursed, $0.47 billion is still outstanding, $0.01 billion has been written off or recognized as a loss, and $0.04 in income has been received. Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP). This program provided funds and guarantees for purchases of mortgage-related securities from bank balance sheets. Purchases and management of the securities was done by private investors who have provided capital to invest along with TARP funds. The PPIP is closed with all of the $18.6 billion in disbursed funds having been repaid and $3.85 billion in income received. Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF). The TALF program was operated by the Federal Reserve to support the asset-backed security market, with TARP funds committed to support the program and absorb initial losses. $0.1 billion in funds were disbursed to cover expenses, but no funds were disbursed to cover losses. While TALF loans extend to 2015, in January 2013 the earnings from the program were deemed sufficient to cover any possible future losses. Thus, the TARP commitment was canceled and the disbursement of $0.1 billion was repaid. Treasury received $0.59 billion in income due to TALF. Section 7(a) Securities Purchase Program . This program supported the Small Business Administration's (SBA's) Section 7(a) loan program through purchases of pooled SBA guaranteed securities to increase credit availability for small businesses. It is now closed with $0.36 billion repaid out of the $0.37 billion in disbursed funds and $0.01 billion in income received. AIG Assistance ( Systemically Signific ant Failing Institution Program) . TARP preferred share purchases supplemented and ultimately supplanted assistance to AIG previously provided by the Federal Reserve. The final AIG assistance restructuring occurred in January 2011 with the Treasury's peak disbursement equaling $67.84 billion and the government's ownership totaling 92% of AIG's common equity. Treasury sold its equity over time, with the final equity sold in December 2012. In total, Treasury recognized $13.5 billion in losses from the TARP portion of AIG assistance and received $0.96 billion in income. Automobile Industry Support. This program initially provided loans to support General Motors (GM) and Chrysler and later included preferred share purchases from the auto financing company GMAC (now renamed Ally Financial) and a loan for Chrysler Financial. The program ultimately resulted in majority government ownership of both GM (60.8%) and GMAC/Ally Financial (74%) and minority government ownership of Chrysler (9.9%). The U.S. government's ownership stake in GM was sold to GM itself and to the public between December 2010 and December 2013. The ownership stake in Chrysler was sold to Fiat in May 2011. Most of the stake in GMAC/Ally Financial has been sold over time and currently stands at 16%, with Treasury planning to sell additional shares. The current total outstanding support to the auto industry is $2.1 billion of the $79.7 billion in disbursed funds, with $15.9 billion in recognized losses and $7.0 billion in income received. No new disbursements are possible under the current program. These programs are unlike the other TARP programs in that they do not result in valuable assets or income in return for TARP funding. All housing programs remain open under the contracts previously agreed to, and substantial funds remain to be disbursed: Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) . HAMP pays mortgage servicers if they modify mortgages to reduce the financial burden on homeowners. A total of $29.8 billion in disbursements is possible under the program, with $8.8 billion disbursed. Hardest Hit Fund (HHF). HHF provides aid to state housing finance agency programs in states that have high unemployment rates or experienced the steepest declines in home prices. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia are participating in HHF. Of a possible $7.6 billion, $4.2 billion has been disbursed. Federal Housing Administration ( FHA ) Short Refinance . This program promotes refinancing of mortgages on "underwater" properties, those on which the mortgage balance is greater than the current value of the house, if lenders agree to forgive some of the principal balance owed on the mortgages. Of a possible $1.0 billion, $0.06 billion has been disbursed. As detailed above, until October 3, 2010, the Secretary had the authority to purchase or insure nearly any financial asset under the programs in place on June 25, 2010. While this authority has expired, the legal contracts entered into under the previous authority may still be in force. Thus, TARP funds may still flow from Treasury in the future. The only programs with a significant gap between legal commitments and actual amount disbursed, and the potential to grow in the future, are the housing support programs. Table 1 presents figures reported by Treasury for obligated and actually disbursed TARP funds. Although the total amount of assets held or insured under TARP was initially capped at $700 billion, and the program was widely reported as a "$700 billion bailout," the actual net cost of TARP was never likely to approach $700 billion.