A federal government bailout of the financial industry began a year and a half ago, but most of the local institutions that received taxpayer money have yet to repay it.
Some experts doubt such banks will be able to pay back the money very soon and in the meantime are treading water as the economy recovers.
The government created the Troubled Asset Relief Program in October 2008 in response to the mortgage and credit crisis that destabilized the banking industry. TARP dispensed about $700 billion, primarily to shore up capital levels at banks.
"They’re not paying it back because of the uncertainty about the length of the recession and the depth of unemployment," said Tony Plath, finance professor at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.
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