Banks that got Troubled Asset Relief Program funds shrank their lending from February to March, according to a Treasury Department report released Monday.
Though previous reports had focused on the largest Tarp recipients' lending practices, the new report was the first to cover all 500 banks that have gotten Tarp money. It said that the total average outstanding loans by banks that participated in the capital purchase program fell to $5.237 trillion in March from $5.279 trillion a month earlier.
