Treasury Plan for TARP Asset Disposal Is Poorly Defined, Oversight Panel Says

The Treasury Department’s unwinding of the Troubled Asset Relief Program will likely take several years to accomplish and require a well-defined exit strategy that addresses issues such as moral hazard, the Congressional Oversight Panel said in a report to be released Jan. 14.

The latest report from the panel notes that Treasury is currently holding a diverse portfolio of assets, such as stock, stock warrants and asset-backed securities, that was worth approximately $258 billion at the end of 2009 and must eventually be divested.

While a great deal of those assets will be disposed of before and shortly after program ...