money

WASHINGTON: A senior administration official says President Barack Obama is ready to announce an administration plan to recover Wall Street bailout shortfalls with a bank fee on America's biggest financial firms.

The announcement is expected Thursday.

The official was not authorized to discuss the fee publicly.

The official said the fee would be designed to recoup as much as US$120 billion.

That's the most administration officials expect to lose from the government's US$700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program that bailed out banks, automakers and other financial firms.

Most of the TARP losses are expected to come from auto industry rescues and the bail out of insurance conglomerate American International Group Inc. - AP