Jun. 18--Georgia banks have yet to join the growing number of financial institutions sending federal bailout money back to Uncle Sam.

Several of the state's largest banks, including Synovus and United Community, plan to hold onto their government money for several years, saying it provides a cushion they need to ride out the recession.

Atlanta-based SunTrust, meanwhile, says it is eager to return its federal funds as quickly as possible, a move that would free the bank from restrictions on executive pay and dividends. But the process requires that SunTrust first prove to regulators it can stand on its own.

"We clearly are anxious to repay it as soon as we can," said Steve Shriner, director of investor relations at SunTrust. "The timing is not completely up to us."

Thus far, only a handful of the more than 600 financial institutions that received taxpayer bailout money have been allowed to return the funds.

But momentum is building. This week, 10 of the nation's biggest banks repaid a total of $68 billion in bailout money. They included BB&T, which is based in North Carolina but is a significant player in the Atlanta market, along with JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.

The federal government has invested $6.2 billion in 22 Georgia-based banks through the U.S. Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. The vast majority of the money has gone to SunTrust and Synovus, based on Columbus.

The program began last fall and winter. TARP's goal was to stabilize the reeling banking industry by offering an emergency source of cash to help banks write off losses, make new loans and -- perhaps most critically -- shore up customer confidence.

Some bankers feel TARP has worked well and are in no hurry to exit the program.

Atlanta-based Fidelity Bank, one of the state's larger community banks, says the $48 million in federal funds it received in December has helped it boost lending in recent months. Fidelity has hired about 90 people to handle the increased business, mostly mortgage refinances, said Jim Miller, Fidelity's chairman.

"We had been pulling back on making loans, and once we got the TARP money we tuned around and made several hundred million in more loans than we otherwise would have," Miller said.

There's little, if any, downside to holding onto the money, Miller said. The restrictions on executive pay don't really affect banks like Fidelity, which are much smaller than the regional and national banks most eager to return TARP funds.