Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co. are seeking to repay billions in federal bailout aid but so far haven't received permission from the government, people familiar with the talks told The Associated Press.
The main sticking point is how much capital the banks would need to raise to repay taxpayers the money they received at the height of the financial crisis, according to two people with direct knowledge of the talks who requested anonymity because the discussions are ongoing.
Citigroup received $45 billion in bailout money and is now 34 percent owned by the government. Wells Fargo received $25 billion.
Citigroup and Wells Fargo declined to comment. Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams would not discuss the negotiations but said banks "are pursuing discussions to understand what needs to be done to move ahead with repayment."
The efforts of Citigroup and Wells Fargo to repay the money come after Bank of America last week announced it would return $45 billion it had received, adding to the $71 billion already repaid by about 50 other financial companies. Bank of America is using available cash and $19 billion raised from a securities offering to repay its funds.
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