The Financial Times reported on Monday that Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co, and American Express Co were expected to be in the first wave of major lenders allowed to return TARP funds. The government’s stress tests said none of the three needed to raise capital, even among the most negative economic scenario that regulators considered.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said that if regulators certify that a bank would be sound without government help, the Treasury would gladly take the money back. But he also told lawmakers last month that his role was to ensure the soundness of the entire financial sector.

Wayne Abernathy, an executive at the American Bankers Association and a former Treasury official, told Reuters earlier on Monday that he expected the Treasury would act soon to let large banks repay TARP.

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