by Laura Conaway

Today, U.S. Treasury Sec. Tim Geithner is unveiling his plan for saving the nation's banks. The Washington Post puts the eventual price tag on the various initiatives, including the so-called bad bank, at $1.5 trillion.

After yesterday's podcast about getting tougher on banks, these paragraphs from the New York Times caught my eye:

In the end, Mr. Geithner largely prevailed in opposing tougher conditions on financial institutions that were sought by presidential aides, including David Axelrod, a senior adviser to the president, according to administration and Congressional officials.

 

Mr. Geithner, who will announce the broad outlines of the plan on Tuesday morning, successfully fought against more severe limits on executive pay for companies receiving government aid.

He resisted those who wanted to dictate how banks would spend their rescue money. And he prevailed over top administration aides who wanted to replace bank executives and wipe out shareholders at institutions receiving aid.