Treasury Sells 465.1 Million Citigroup (NYSE:C) Warrants

The Treasury Department announced they've sold the final 465.1 million Citigroup (NYSE:C) warrants to acquire common shares in the giant bank. They recouped $312.2 million from the sale.

Tim Massad, Treasury's acting assistant secretary for financial stability, said in a statement, "As we exit our investments in private companies and recover taxpayer dollars, it's clear that the cost of the TARP program will be a fraction of what many had once feared during the depths of the crisis."

Of course the cost was much higher than that, as the government should never have been involved in the situation in the first place, and should have allowed the market sort things out, with those companies run well surviving and taking over the assets of failing banks, making the financial sector much stronger.

Now the government has got a taste of more power, and are poised to interfere in the private sector again, whenever they perceive the need to.

Citigroup and other banks accepting TARP funds were forced by the Treasury to offer warrant in order to generate maximum returns on taxpayers' money. That was also to alleviate the anger of the public at the government going beyond its mandate it in the first place.

Citigroup was trading at $4.84, up $0.01, or 0.31 percent, as of 11:17 AM EST.