The Congressional Oversight Panel said Treasury had not yet adequately answered basic questions about the $700bn Troubled Assets Relief Program, including what the administration's strategy was and why this had changed so abruptly from one based on asset purchases to one based on capital injections.
Soon after the legislation was passed, the Treasury announced a plan to invest in bank equity and on November 12 Hank Paulson, Treasury secretary, said the government was no longer proceeding with the purchase plan.
The panel's report comes amid a heated international debate as to how far governments injecting public capital into banks should demand tough terms and try to force them to lend as a condition of this support.