Which 2008 U.S. stock-market rescue plan was commonly known as TARP?

TARP was the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the 2008 U.S. rescue plan created during the financial-market crash.

Congress authorized TARP through the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, signed on October 3, 2008. The program initially gave the Treasury authority to buy troubled mortgage-related assets from financial institutions. Its purpose was to stabilize the financial system and restore lending after the housing and credit collapse.

In practice, the Treasury used much of TARP's authority for capital injections into banks and other financial institutions. The program also supported the automobile industry and certain measures related to distressed homeowners. The government committed hundreds of billions of dollars, though much of the financial-sector assistance was later repaid.

TARP is often confused with the 2009 stimulus law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. That legislation addressed employment and broader economic activity, while TARP was the emergency financial-stabilization program created at the height of the 2008 crisis.