Capital Purchase Program - CPP

Categories: Econ, Regulations, Bonds

The technical term for Washington DC's lobbying industry.

Eh...okay, it was actually part of the federal bailout that followed the financial crisis of 2007-2008.

The capital purchase program consisted of an effort to bring stability to the financial system after the collapse of the subprime lending market sent markets into chaos. It was part of a series of interconnected programs that the federal government launched in the wake of the market turmoil meant to prop up the failing economy.

Under the CPP, the U.S. treasury provided capital to financial companies that were sent reeling by the breakdown in the markets. Essentially, the government became the investor of last resort for these institutions. The goal was to keep them afloat in order to keep the turmoil from spiraling into an all-out economic collapse.

The final count of firms helped by the program eventually reached 707, according to the government, with the last bailout getting issued in 2009. In the end, the banks paid back more than the amount handed out in CPP bailout.

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