By David Lawder
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Treasury has made capital investments totaling $189 billion in 257 banks so far, but thousands more institutions are lining up for government cash, a senior Treasury official said on Tuesday.
Neel Kashkari, who is in charge of administering the Treasury's $700 billion financial rescue program, said it will take time for the capital investments to have the desired effect of making credit more available.
The Treasury still has around $60 billion to invest in banks under the Troubled Asset Relief Program, before moving to the second $350 billion requested by the Bush administration on behalf of President-elect Barack Obama.
"There is a huge demand for the program. The number of applications under review at the regulators is in the thousands, representing every state in the country, and hundreds more have already been pre-approved by Treasury," Kashkari said in a speech at Georgetown University.
Obama on Monday asked President George W. Bush to make the request on his behalf so he could take office next week with tools to deal with the weak economy.
The president-elect agreed to new restrictions and changes to the program to address concerns, including the criticism that not enough has been done to help homeowners facing foreclosure.
The Senate Republican leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, on Tuesday called for more details about how the money would be used.
"So far, the incoming administration has not said whether it plans to limit funds to their original purpose or to expand their use to help specific industries," said McConnell.
To get the next $350 billion under TARP, the president must submit a written report to Congress detailing plans to spend the money. Receipt of this report triggers a 15-day period during which Congress may reject the administration's request by enacting a joint resolution of disapproval.
A joint resolution of disapproval would have to pass both chambers, be signed by the President, or enacted over his veto, to take effect.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
