Treasury Defends Bailout Response

The Treasury Department is defending its management of the $700 billion bailout fund, amid criticisms about confusing shifts in strategy and deficiencies in tracking how the money is being used.

Writing in response to requests by the Congressional Oversight Panel for clarification of the Troubled Assets Relief Program's goals and achievements, Treasury issued a point-by-point justification of its intervention in the financial markets.

The document provided details of the deterioration in credit markets that the Treasury said required a shift in policy away from buying troubled assets and toward taking equity stakes in U.S. financial institutions. ...