TARP. TARP was established as a response to the economic crash that occurred around September to October 2008 which put the U.S. economy into a recessionary state. The program was created by the United States Department of Treasury. $700 billion was made available with the intent to spur economic growth once more. It is managed by the Office of Financial Stability, an office which was created specifically to manage this program. TARP is being split into seven administrative units, and each one has a different function. For example, one unit serves to buy mortgage-backed securities while another serves to purchase equities from several financial institutions.