By Greg Robb
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Treasury Department announced Monday that it has completed the sale of the agency-backed mortgage-backed securities that it purchased during the financial crisis for a profit of $25 billion. "The successful sale of these securities marks another important milestone in the wind-down of the government's emergency financial crisis response efforts," said Mary Miller, Treasury assistant secretary for financial markets. The Treasury's mortgage purchases were one part of the government's support for banks and the financial markets. The department paid out $414 billion under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, (TARP) and has since recovered 80% of that total, or $331 billion, a Treasury official said. The related takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cost an additional $151 billion.
