Washington ? The Obama administration plans to cut its estimate of the projected costs of the government bailout program by more than $200 billion, a Treasury official said Sunday.

The official said the administration now believes the cost of the program will be at least $200 billion below the $341 billion estimate it made in August.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the administration’s new projection has not been presented to Congress, said the reduced cost estimate reflected faster repayments by big banks and less spending on some of the programs.

The administration’s estimate that the $700 billion financial rescue program will cost at most $141 billion is down sharply from the estimate of $341 billion made in the administration’s mid-session budget review in August.

The official said the new estimate will become part of the administration’s new budget, which President Barack Obama will present to Congress in February.