Treasury Says 11th Bank Has Repaid Bailout Fund

Sterling also was eligible to receive guarantees from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on money it borrowed under an emergency program the agency created in October at the height of the financial crisis when inter-banking lending was under severe strains.

Under that temporary program, the FDIC provides insurance for loans between banks, guaranteeing the new debt in the event of payment default by the borrowing bank. A number of big banks that have received federal money under the bailout program also have benefited from the FDIC debt guarantees.

Some of the nation's 19 biggest banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs Group Inc., have said they want to return the bailout money but have yet to do so. Those firms will be allowed to exit the $700 billion bailout program only if they have the enhanced capital requirements called for in government "stress tests."

Those banks also will have to show they can borrow money without the support of the emergency FDIC program, regulators said Wednesday. The stress test results are expected later Thursday.

Sterling Bancshares repaid the loan on Tuesday. Under the law that created the $700 billion financial rescue fund, the government has two business days to disclose transactions involving the fund.