IndiaPost.com - Indian American to oversee US bailout package

WASHINGTON: As the global market plunged, US Treasury Secretary designated an Indian American to head the key Office of Financial Stability, the bureau that will oversee the $700 billion bailout package.

Treasury Secretary Paulson designated Neel Kashkari, an Indian American with roots in Jammu and Kashmir, as the Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. "In this capacity, Kashkari will oversee the Office of Financial Stability, including the Troubled Asset Relief Program," the Treasury Secretary said in a statement. The full appointment would need Senate confirmation and this is unlikely to come about given the time constraints, it is being pointed out.

The 35-year-old Kashkari is currently Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Economics and Development where he is responsible for developing and executing policies for the Department to foster a more conducive investment climate for the US, as well as to support global economic growth.

Kashkari joined the Treasury Department in July 2006 as Senior Advisor to Secretary Paulson and prior to joining the Treasury he was a vice president at Goldman, Sachs & Co. in San Francisco, where he led Goldman's IT Security Investment Banking practice, advising public and private companies on mergers and acquisitions and financial transactions. Born in Akron, Ohio, Kashkari graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Engineering. He also received an M.B.A. in Finance from the Wharton School.