The U.S. Treasury department's financial bailout has a $78 billion shortfall when comparing the capital purchases it made to the bank assets it received, according to a Congressional Oversight Panel, according to a report.

Taxpayers received assets worth $176 billion in exchange for purchases of $254 billion under the Troubled Assets Relief Program when it was headed by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the panel said, according to Reuters.

The panel's report revealed that in the ten largest transactions made with TARP funds, for every $100 spent the Treasury received assets worth, on average, only $66.

Among the ten largest transactions, eight deals made under the Capital Purchase Program -- designed for healthy banks,-- Treasury received $78 for every $100 spent. And in two deals made under the programs designed to aid important financial institutions with higher risk of failure, the Treasury spent $100 for assets worth $41, according to the report.

The Bush administration had pledged to rescue the financial system, investing an initial $350 billion in financial institutions to help them through the current economic crisis. Another $350 billion is are set to be used in the coming months as President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress make urgent legislative efforts to rescue the economy from falling further into recession.

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