Watchdog Refutes Treasury Claim Banks Cannot Be Asked to Account for Bailout Cash

July 19, 2009 — -- The chief watchdog for the government's $700 billion bailout program refutes the Treasury Department's claim that banks cannot be asked to account for their use of taxpayer money in a new report obtained by ABC News.

The report from Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), will be officially released on Monday.

Starting on Feb. 5, Barofsky's office asked 360 financial and other institutions to account for their use of funds. More than 98 percent of the survey's recipients responded.

While the responses for each specific institution will not be released until next month, Barofsky's survey revealed the following general conclusions: