Administration seeks to free frozen credit markets.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Obama administration launched a new effort Monday to end a paralysis in lending, saying it will team with investors with the goal of buying up to a trillion dollars of bad assets from banks that have been reluctant to make loans to consumers and companies. In announcing the program, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pleaded for patience, saying that work to rehabilitate an industry with such systemic problems must go forward despite “deep anger and outrage” over executive bonus payments. Geithner’s performance in President Barack Obama’s Cabinet has come under heavy criticism from some in Congress. The secretary announced the initiative in a Treasury Department room with no cameras allowed. He was with Obama later in the morning, however, when the president spoke briefly, saying he was “very confident” the latest plan will succeed. Obama called it “one more critical element” in a multipronged effort to revive the economy and said the depressed housing market is beginning to show glimmers of hope. Sales of previously occupied homes jumped unexpectedly in February by the largest amount in nearly six years, a spike attributed to first-time buyers taking advantage of deep discounts on foreclosures and other distressed properties. Full Story.
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