Geithner's banking plan will use low-interest loans and between $75 billion to $100 billion of what's left of the government's $700 billion bailout fund to entice private sector investors to initially buy about buy $500 billion in toxic assets — taking them off the books of the nation's banks.
Geithner defended the decision to have the government carry so much of the risk. He said the alternative would have been to do nothing and risk a more prolonged recession or have the government carry all the risk.