WASHINGTON – The Treasury Department said Wednesday it has completed the sale of pools of securities backed by small business loans, marking the end of another piece of the Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Treasury invested in 31 Small Business Administration 7(a) securities — backed by the guaranteed portion of SBA loans — through Tarp’s Consumer and Business Lending Initiative to help inject liquidity into the market. Treasury began selling the securities in June – part of its ongoing efforts to wind down Tarp – and completed the disposition of the securities portfolio on Tuesday.
In total, Treasury recovered $376 million through sales and principal interest payments, a gain of approximately $8 million to taxpayers on the original $368 million investment, according to a press release.
The securities, which Treasury purchased between March and September 2010, were comprised of 1,000 loans from 17 different industries, including retail, food services, manufacturing, health care, educational services, and others.
