Banks Set To Use New Government Loans To Pay Off TARP Debts

The U.S. Treasury Department says it will begin disbursing funds to small and medium-sized banks through the new Small Business Lending Fund in the next several days.

The goal is to help those banks lend more to small businesses, to create jobs and boost the economy.

But some critics complain that hundreds of banks plan to use the money to pay off funds they received through the Troubled Asset Relief Fund, or TARP.  In other words, they will essentially pay off one government loan with another.