U.S. Bancorp leads banks repaying TARP funds

U.S. Bancorp on Wednesday said it is repaying $6.6 billion in government bailout funds, becoming the first large bank to do so, ahead of nine others given permission to return the money.

U.S. Bancorp, which has $264 billion in assets, also asked the Treasury for permission to buy back a 10-year warrant for its common stock issued to the government as part of the original bailout, the bank said in a statement.

Several other big banks are also expected to make repayments on Wednesday. Goldman Sachs Group has said it will do so, and a person familiar with the situation said Morgan Stanley would, too. Both banks received $10 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The Wall Street Journal reported last week that JPMorgan Chase & Co and American Express Co were also expected to repay $25 billion and $3.4 billion, respectively, on Wednesday.

At least 22 smaller banks have been allowed to repay some or all of their taxpayer money, although most must still negotiate terms to buy back or extinguish the government's warrants to buy their common stock.

(Reporting by Elinor Comlay; editing by John Wallace)