If only financial institutions could invest as smartly as they contributed to Congressional and presidential campaigns, why, there would be no economic crisis at all. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group tracking special-interest money in politics, companies received $295.2 billion from the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program but paid, collectively, only $114 million for “politicking” last year. That's a return of 256,028 percent.
| Company | “Grand Total (thousands) (Contribs+Lobbying)” | TARP Payment (bln) | Return (thousands) |
|---|---|---|---|
| American Express Company | $12,459.7 | $3.39 | 27.1% |
| AIG | 10,619.8 | 40.00 | 376.6 |
| Bank of America/Merrill Lynch | 14,542.6 | 45.00 | 309.3 |
| Bank of New York Mellon Corporation | 1,445.1 | 3.00 | 207.5 |
| Boston Private Financial Holdings, Inc. | 6.4 | 0.15 | 2,406.2 |
| Capital One Financial Corporation | 1,832.2 | 3.56 | 193.9 |
| Chrysler Holding LLC | 9,003.1 | 5.50 | 61.0 |
| CIT Group Inc. | 113.2 | 2.33 | 2,058.2 |
| Citigroup Inc. | 12,459.7 | 50.00 | 401.2 |
| Fifth Third Bancorp | 229.6 | 3.41 | 1,484.5 |
| General Motors Corporation | 14,987.1 | 10.40 | 69.3 |
| GMAC LLC | 4,692.2 | 5.00 | 106.5 |
| The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | 8,970.4 | 10.00 | 111.4 |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 10,168.6 | 25.00 | 245.8 |
| KeyCorp | 369.3 | 2.50 | 676.9 |
| Marshall & Ilsley Corporation | 57.4 | 1.72 | 2,987.7 |
| Morgan Stanley | 6,809.0 | 10.00 | 146.8 |
| New York Private Bank & Trust Corporation | 6.4 | 0.27 | 4,204.6 |
| Northern Trust Corporation | 240.9 | 1.58 | 654.1 |
| The PNC Financial Services Group Inc. | 68.5 | 7.58 | 11,060.4 |
| Regions Financial Corp. | 341.8 | 3.50 | 1,024.0 |
| Signature Bank | 7.9 | 0.12 | 1,523.7 |
| State Street Corporation | 1,132.6 | 2.00 | 176.5 |
| SunTrust Banks, Inc. | 175.9 | 4.85 | 2,757.1 |
| Susquehanna Bancshares, Inc | 6.9 | 0.30 | 4,379.5 |
| U.S. Bancorp | 1,066.5 | 6.60 | 618.7 |
| Wells Fargo & Company | 2,754.2 | 25.00 | 907.6 |
| Wilmington Trust Corporation | 59.9 | 0.33 | 551.3 |
| Zions Bancorporation | 177.2 | 1.40 | 790.2 |
| Grand Total | $107,162.2 | $274.47 | 256% |
TARP recipient list accessed at Treasury.gov on Feb. 2, 2009. List includes only recipients that spent money on lobbying or were associated with campaign contributions. Campaign contributions include money from PACs and individuals but do not include post-election fundraising.
Source: Opensecrets.org