by Caitlin Kenney

The Treasury Department is hoping to attract more private investors to its plan to purchase toxic assets by relaxing some of the requirements for participation. The deadline for the Legacy Securities part of the program has been pushed back two weeks until April 24, and the Treasury Department is now emphasizing that applications will be "viewed holistically — failure to meet any one criterion will not necessarily disqualify a proposal." The holistic approach could open the door for smaller investors who may not have been able to meet initial fundraising and capital requirements.

 

Right now, the Legacy Securities program only includes mortgage-backed securities, but today's note from Treasury says it will talk to fund managers about including other asset classes "at a later date."

BONUS: How the Legacy Securities program is expected to work.