The program, a collaboration between the Fed and the Treasury, was designed to provide up to $200 billion in Fed loans to owners of top-rated asset-backed securities. The idea was to boost the secondary market for a number of different assets classes, such as credit card, auto, student and Small Business Administration loans as well as commercial mortgages. The program was limited to newly issued, top-rated securities.

In early 2009, Treasury Secretary Geithner said he might devote up to $100 billion of TARP funds to TALF, which he said would lead to up to $1 trillion in Fed loans. In early April, Treasury officials came down further to $30 billion.

In July of 2010, the Treasury reduced the amount again to $4.3 billion.

In June of 2012, the amount was reduced again to $1.4 billion, because the program had experienced no losses and any recourse to TARP funds was deemed unlikely.

In January of 2013, the Treasury announced that its participation in the program was ending. Treasury had made $100 million in loans over the course of the program, and all of that had been repaid with interest, resulting in a profit.

Documents from the Federal Reserve:
TALF Terms and Conditions
TALF FAQs

More info...