A vast majority of the banks which received money from the U.S. government's Troubled Asset Relief Program said the funds helped them to increase lending or to avoid a decline in lending, Reuters reports on its Web site Sunday, citing an official survey. The survey, conducted by the Inspector General for the U.S. Treasury's TARP program, found almost 40% of the banks surveyed used some of the money received to increase capital cushions, while one-third said they used at least some of the money to buy mortgage-backed securities issued by Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE). According to Reuters, 360 banks were surveyed. Full story at http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE56I0ER20090719

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