Treasury says it got bailed-out banks to pay more

The Obama administration said Wednesday it has increased the investment return to taxpayers by pushing banks to pay higher prices to repurchase stock warrants given to the government during the financial crisis.

The government made $4 billion from the sale of the warrants it held, a Treasury Department report said. The warrants are instruments that let the holder buy stock in the future at a fixed price. The government received them in return for aid it provided to banks from the $700 billion bailout fund.

Of the $4 billion, $2.9 billion came from 31 institutions that repurchased their warrants from the government. And $1.1 billion came from the auction of …