The Brawn to Paulson’s Brains

Department of the Treasury secretary Henry Paulson’s new man will soon step up and take action on Paulson’s plan rescue the economy. Neel Kashkari will speak Monday regarding the Treasury’s progress in implementing the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA), the Treasury announced Thursday. Kashkari will speak before the Institute of International Bankers in Washington.  According to a Treasury statement, he plans to discuss financial markets as well as the Treasury’s work on the EESA. Paulson promoted the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) banker to a lead position on the implementation of the EESA. The announcement came Monday after the Treasury released a list of criteria for its asset manager hiring program. His new authority puts Kashkari in the position of moving substantial amounts of money through the Treasury and into the economy. As interim assistant secretary for financial stability, Kashkari will help oversee the disbursement of the $700 billion in funds granted to the Treasury. He will assist in the decision-making process as to which securities to purchase with those massive funds and which asset managers to hire through the Treasury’s new asset manager selection program. Kashkari, 35, previously held the Treasury title of assistant secretary of international affairs after leaving Goldman Sachs, where he worked with Paulson. Disclosure: The author held no relevant positions when this story was published. Indirect holdings may exist via mutual fund investments. HW reporters and writers follow a strict disclosure policy, the first in the mortgage trade. Editor’s note: To contact the reporter on this story, email [email protected].