Can Barney Frank twist Wall Street's arm?

In an interview with CNBC, House Financial Service Chairman Barney Frank had a simple message for bankers who are whining about the billions they received under the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program: if you don't like the increased scrutiny the headaches that goes with it, you can always give the money back.

Frank, one of the smartest members of Congress, was not much more sympathetic when he convened the hearing in which eight banking CEOs testified about how they spent the TARP money. In his opening remarks, Frank urged the heads of Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C), Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS), Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), State Street Corp. (NYSE: STT), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC) and Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE:BK) to be "ungrudingy cooperative."