Treasury extends TARP application date
The two-week reprieve is a boon for firms that applied for bank holding status at the end of last year, extending the time for some firms to seek rescue funds.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- The Treasury Department said Thursday it will give regulators two extra weeks to approve thrift and bank holding company applications and so effectively extend the time for some firms to seek rescue funds.
"We have given the regulators until January 15 to finish processing any holding company and thrift applications that were not completed by (December 31) for applicants wishing to participate in (the capital purchase program)," the Treasury said in a statement.
The decision means that any firms that applied for bank or thrift status in order to access rescue funds will not be disqualified because their charter was not approved in time.
At the end of the year, Chrysler Financial sought an industrial loan charter which, if approved, would expand its access to federal funds. Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli also said in December that the automaker's finance arm had applied for Troubled Asset Relief Program funds. 
