The bank bailout idea was an academic and practical failure, done by academics, most of whom were not work-a-day bankers, and Wall Streeters with securities trading background.
They saw to it that banks had acquired more clean capital and reserves, having gotten rid of much of their questionable assets. So far so good for the economy.
Government honchos have seen to it that banks now earn interest kept on reserves over at the Federal Reserve. That adds to bank earnings. But regulators cannot force the banks to make loans to their customers. Not when customers are spooked by anti-business Obama administration tax and industrial policy.
In fact, banks are now sitting with loads of available cash for industry and consumers but relatively little of it is getting out. Because they, themselves, are still afraid to lend it as they do in normal times. They can make more, investing in securities.
So much for the smart guys in government with trillions of inflationary bailout money. All they had to do to bail out banks in the first place, apart from seeing that banks added to capital, was guarantee their assets. No bailout loot required.
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