While larger financial institutions complete full repayment of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), as is the case with the $45bn repaid last week by Citi (C) and Wells Fargo (WFC), a bank survey completed by the Bank Administration Institute (BAI) claims only 12% of respondents feel the program positively impacted their operations. The BAI & Finacle Bank Executive Index tracked the opinion of banking executives from the top 100 financial institutions in the United States. The executives, who staff commercial and savings banks, as well as credit unions, filled out an online survey regarding questions on the overall health of the economy as well as factors that improve customer satisfaction. While respondents feel negative towards TARP, 87% of those surveyed said the government’s action to raise FDIC insurance to $250,000 helped drive confidence in consumer bank deposits. Additionally, new regulations are increasingly offsetting any gains being made through expanding the retail side of the business. However, only a quarter said their firm is creating clear strategies for near-term innovations. And only 11% felt they better understood client’s needs and wants when compared to six months ago. Write to Jacob Gaffney. Disclosure: the author holds no relevant investments.