The United States Treasury has sold off the last bit of the 912 million shares in General Motors it received when it bailed out the automaker in 2009 under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
General Motors said in a press release that the bailout saved 1.2 million jobs. However, taxpayers wound up paying approximately $10 billion to save GM, according to the Detroit News.
Secretary of the Treasury Jack Lew announced the sale Monday.
“The President’s leadership in responding to the financial crisis helped stabilize the auto industry, and prevent another Great Depression,” said Lew in a statement. “With the final sale of GM stock, this important chapter in our nation’s history is now closed.”
President Barack Obama also released a statement on the sale.
“Today, we’re closing the book by selling the remaining shares of the federal government’s investment in General Motors,” said Obama. “GM has now repaid every taxpayer dollar my Administration committed to its rescue, plus billions invested by the previous Administration.”
The government’s total recovery from all TARP investments is about $432.7 billion, according to the Treasury Department.