New GAO Report on TARP Costs Says Costs Down, Big CBO/Treasury Differences Exist about Housing Costs.

GAO report is HERE.  From the report: 

 In 2009, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated that TARP could cost $356 billion. However, CBO’s most recent estimate, using November 2011 data, is approximately $34 billion.

Treasury’s fiscal year 2011 financial statement, audited by GAO, reported that TARP would cost around $70 billion as of September 30, 2011, a decrease from about $78 billion estimated as of September 2010.

…. program participation assumptions for TARP-funded housing programs explain the large difference between the CBO and Treasury cost estimates.

Treasury assumed that all of the $45.6 billion allocated to TARP housing programs would be utilized and, as a result, estimated that they would cost $45.6 billion.

Conversely, CBO expected lower participation rates for the housing programs, resulting in a cost estimate of $13 billion as of November 2011

If you do the math you will see that:

1. Housing program costs represent 38% of projected TARP costs according to CBO and 65% according to Treasury.  
2. Treasury's estimated TARP housing program cost is 251% higher than the estimated CBO TARP housing program costs.

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.