As big banks have repaid TARP loans in the past few years, it's become commonplace for government officials and certain pundits to tout the "profits" taxpayers made on the hugely controversial program.

Even back in 2009, just a year after the program was launched, the Treasury Department started spinning stories about the profits accruing to taxpayers as banks began repaying their TARP loans.

Secretary Tim Geithner has played an active role in this effort, including last March when he declared: "While our overriding objective with TARP was to break the back of the financial crisis and save American jobs, the fact that our investment in banks has also delivered a significant profit for taxpayers is a welcome development." (Italics added)