Personal Finance Blog By MoneyRates - December 2008

Treasury Secretary Paulson lobbied Congress very hard for the $700 billion in bailout funds needed to buy toxic mortgage securities. After Congress approved the plan, Paulson reversed course and the main use of the TARP funds has been capital injections directly into troubled financial companies. Unfortunately, as companies like Citigroup, AIG, Bank of American, Wells Fargo, and more have sorted out their own balance sheets, credit available to consumers has not improved. Last week as mounting criticism rose about the use of the funds, Paulson and the Treasury Department announced $200 billion in aid directly to consumer lenders in the hopes of improving the markets for student loan, credit card, and home equity loans. Paulson calls the $200 billion a starting point in his news conference last week. Listen below: