The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Oct. 13 that it would name within days the asset managers selected to help implement the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program, which was signed into law by President Bush on Oct. 3.

The department received more than 100 submissions for the position, Neel Kashkari, the interim assistant secretary for financial stability for the Treasury, said in prepared remarks for the Institute of International Bankers. The selected firm will hold, manage and sell Alt-A and subprime residential mortgage-backed securities, commercial mortgage-backed securities and MBS collateralized debt obligations, among other possible securities.

BlackRock Inc. and Pacific Investment Management Co. LLC are considered front-runners for the asset management position, Jefferies & Co. analyst Daniel Fannon told SNL last week.

Kashkari said the Treasury was working as quickly as possible to implement TARP.

"A program as large and complex as this would normally take months or even years to establish," he said. "We don't have months or years."

Kashkari said the Treasury was resolving issues related to executive compensation of participating firms, including those related to the auction purchase of troubled assets, a broad equity or direct purchase program and intervention to prevent the failure of a large institution.

On Oct. 6, the Treasury solicited proposals for the TARP categories of investment management consultant, master custodian firm, securities asset manager and whole loan asset manager.

The Treasury said it selected Ennis Knupp + Associates as investment management consultant, with the firm helping the department to review asset manager proposals. The Treasury will name the master custodian firm within the next 24 hours, Kashkari said. He added that the department would select a whole loan asset manager in the next few days.

Kashkari said the department created seven policy teams under TARP, devoted to the purchase of mortgage-backed securities, the purchase of whole loans, the insurance of troubled assets, the purchase of equity in financial institutions, the preservation of homeownership, executive compensation and compliance.

Kashkari said the department named several financial veterans to interim positions in the Office of Financial Stability. The officials will set up the office, hire staff, commence operations and identify their permanent successors.

Tom Bloom, who is the CFO of the OCC, will serve as the interim CFO, while Jonathan Fiechter, deputy director of the International Monetary Fund Monetary and Capital Markets Department, will act as the interim chief risk officer.

Donna Gambrell will serve as interim chief of homeownership preservation. Gambrell is director of the Community Developmental Financial Institutions Fund, and former deputy director of consumer protection and community affairs for the FDIC.

Don Hammond, deputy director of the Division of Federal Reserve Bank Operations and Payment Systems, will serve as interim chief compliance officer, and Reuben Jeffrey will serve as interim chief investment officer. Jeffrey is undersecretary of state for economic affairs and former chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Additionally, the Treasury said it selected Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP to advise on equity program structuring.