TARP watchdog sees overall US bailout program loss

WASHINGTON, Nov 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. government's $700 billion bailout program will ultimately produce an overall loss for taxpayers, a key auditor for the program said on Thursday.

The U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program will produce a "negative return" because some programs, such as $50 billion in housing subsidies, were not designed with any reasonable opportunity for a return to taxpayers, said Neil Barofsky, TARP's special inspector general.

Barofsky also told a forum sponsored by Bloomberg that he would audit the government's role and influence as a major shareholder in a number of private companies that received aid, including the role it played in General Motors Co.'s [GM.UL] decision to scuttle an earlier deal to sell its Opel division in Europe. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)