Treasury: 100+ Firms Want Toxic Assets

The Treasury Department said on Wednesday it received more than 100 applications to manage so-called "toxic" assets clogging up bank balance sheets.

The assets are pools of troubled residential and commercial mortgages owned by large financial institutions, including Citigroup (C Quote), Bank of America (BAC Quote) and Wells Fargo (WFC Quote).

Under the Public Private Investment Program, the government is offering financing to buyers and will invest alongside them. It is unclear whether banks will sell the assets, however, as doing so might require them to mark them down to lower prices than where they are currently held on their balance sheets. ...