Political involvement has long been shown to be a pro…table investment for …rms that seek favorable regulatory conditions or support in times of economic distress. But how important are di¤erent types of political involvement for the timing and magnitude of political support? To answer this question, we take a comprehensive look at the lobbying expenditures and political connections of banks that were recipients of government support under the 2008 Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). We …nd that politicallyengaged …rms were not only more likely to receive TARP support, but they also received a greater amount of TARP support and received the support earlier than …rms that were not politically involved.

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