Jun. 18--Seven months after it accepted $3.1 billion from the federal government, BB&T Corp. -- a longtime opponent of big government -- repaid the money with interest Wednesday.

The Winston-Salem bank, which is the country's 10th largest by assets, is just one of the indicators that the government's days of owning bank shares could be winding down. American Express, Bank of New York Mellon, Capital One, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Northern Trust, State Street and U.S. Bancorp also announced that they had repaid their loans from TARP, or the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The announcements were expected.

BB&T said it accepted TARP loans despite the bank's philosophy because regulators strongly urged it to. The bank said Wednesday that it had paid $93 million in interest on the government loan and indicated that it wasn't happy about the expense or the distraction.

"This was, in fact, an excellent investment for the American taxpayer," chief executive Kelly King said in a statement -- subtly refuting critics who called the TARP loans a bailout.

While BB&T showed no love lost between it and the government, other banks have been more doting as they make their repayments.

"We appreciate the support that the U.S. government provided to our industry," Bank of New York Mellon CEO Bob Kelly said last week.

"We are grateful for the government's extraordinary efforts," Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said.

Customers probably won't notice anything different at the banks, but repaying TARP frees the banks from restrictions on shareholder dividends, executive compensation, and other areas. It also should alleviate the public ire that came with the TARP money, from taxpayers who viewed it as a bailout and legislators who kept adding extra rules.

It's difficult to say if BB&T and other banks will make any immediate changes now that they're rid of TARP. Political pressure recently forced BB&T to scrap an employee rewards program called "Sterling Performance," so the bank might now reinstitute that program.

King, the CEO, said: "We have a singular focus on the business of serving our clients."

Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have said they'd like to repay TARP loans as soon as practically possible.

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