U.S. Sees $4B From Bailed Out Banks: Report

WASHINGTON (TheStreet) -- The U.S. government has collected profits of about $4 billion from eight of the biggest banks that have fully repaid their obligations from the federal rescue of the banking system last year, a report says.

The government has taken profits of about $1.4 billion on its investment in Goldman Sachs(GS), $1.3 billion on Morgan Stanley(MS) and $414 million on American Express(AXP), the New York Times reports.

Northern Trust(NTRS), Bank of New York Mellon(BK), State Street(STT), U.S. Bancorp(USB) and BB&T(BBT) each brought in $100 million to $334 million in profit, the Times notes.

The U.S. government also has collected about $35 million in profits from 14 smaller banks that have paid back their loans, the Times reported.

The profits from the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, signed into law in October, have spurred hopes the U.S. government could soon get out of the banking business, the Times notes. Critics of the law were concerned taxpayers might not see any profits under the program, and that it could take years for the banks to repay the loans.

-- Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York .

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