Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) is getting ready to repay its $3.4 billion in TARP money to the feds. The insurance company is using money raised from debt and equity offerings to settle its score with the American taxpayer.

Hartford is going to issue $1.45 billion in common stock and $500 million in mandatory convertible preferred stock presented by depository shares. The debt offering will entail senior notes of $425 million. Hartford will pre-fund the repurchase of senior debt that matures in 2010 and 2011 with the issuance of an additional $675 million in senior notes.

The U.S. Treasury is receiving a bit of pressure from the internal watchdog that is overseeing the U.S. government's financial bailout. The special inspector, General Neil Barofsky, wants more information from the banks that received TARP funds, and he has his own bank survey to prove it can be done.

According to Barofsky's personal study, more than 80% of the banks responding to his survey said the TARP money they received was used for loans or to avoid reduced lending. Barofsky also said that fewer than a third of the 360 banks he surveyed said their lending levels would have been lower without the TARP funds.

My biggest issue with the TARP money was that there was no requirement for the banks to track the money, or to report what the money was used for -- despite assertions that the money was to be used to increase loans, one way or the other. There has to be some way to track this, and Barofsky has proven this. Of course, this is being dismissed by Assistant Treasury Secretary Herbert Allison (the top official in charge of the program for the Treasury) because, "it is not possible to say that investment of TARP dollars resulted in particular loans, investments or other activities by the recipient." The Treasury does conduct its own survey, which reported that outstanding loan balances were flat in May.

As citizens and taxpayers, we should know what the money is spent for -- but Barofsky did note that the banks did not quantify the amount of new lending or the difference in lending from the bailout funds. However, if (as Barofsky asserts) the banks budget how they would use TARP money, then why wouldn't we be able to know more? It is our right -- at least last time I checked.

Perhaps lost in all of the General Motors fallout is an announcement from Prudential Financial (NYSE: PRU) that it will not take any cash from the government's financial rescue program. Instead, the firm will raise $1.25 billion on its own by offering common stock.

Last month, Prudential and five other major insurers were given permission by the Treasury Department to use some TARP funds, but PRU has decided not to participate, joining the decision by Allstate and Ameriprise, which were among the other five banks.

"Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) surprised investors with better-than-expected earnings while also raising equity to help replay $10 billion in TARP money," says Bill Martin In BullMarket.com.

"On the earnings front, Goldman swung back to solid profitability after turning in its first-ever quarterly loss at the end of its last fiscal year, which ended November 28th, 2008.

"Goldman earned a net profit of $1.66 billion, or $3.39 a share, compared to a Q1 2008 profit of $1.47 billion, or $3.23 a share. The results are a vast improvement over the loss of -$2.29 billion, or -$4.97 a share, reported for Q4 2008.

"Goldman Sachs has long been the best run of what were previously Wall Street's top investment banks and the strength of its trading operations were evident in the quarter.