The chairman and chief executive of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said Tuesday that his company will repay its $7.6 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds within 15 months.
"I am confident of that," James Rohr, head of the Pittsburgh regional banking company, said in an interview with the cable TV business channel CNBC.
Rohr said in late October that PNC "could" repay the billions in public support it accepted last year within the next 15 months.
But Tuesday's comments conveyed a subtle shift in Rohr's tone; he has said repeatedly that PNC would not rush to repay the Tarp funds in any way that could significantly hurt shareholders.
Other banking companies have raised billions in fresh capital, diluting current investors' stakes, to repay the funds more quickly.
