Frank urges White House on Tarp payback

Barack Obama’s administration should seize the political opportunity offered by Goldman Sachs‘ and JPMorgan‘s request to repay $45bn in troubled asset relief funds, according to Barney Frank, the influential Democratic lawmaker.

Both banks are lobbying Tim Geithner, the US Treasury secretary, and the Federal Reserve, for permission to repay the money in order to escape the tight restrictions on executive pay that Capitol Hill imposed on Tarp recipients. But Mr Geithner, who will next week release the results of the “stress tests” on the nation’s largest 19 banks, has been reluctant to differentiate between the banks.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Frank said the Obama administration was missing a political chance to showcase the return of taxpayer money.