The senior Treasury Department official responsible for running the government's management of hundreds of billions of dollars in toxic assets announced his resignation Wednesday. Herb Allison said he was leaving the administration as the Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, winds down. "With the TARP entering a new phase and continuing to wind down, I have decided that now is the right time for me to step down as assistant secretary for financial stability," he said in an email to Treasury staff.
"This is not an easy decision and I have made it with a measure of regret." Allison is now expected to return to Connecticut, where his wife remained during his time in Washington. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Wednesday named Tim Massad, former chief council to Allison, to replace him. In and address to staff Geithner praised Allison for agreeing to head the controversial 700-billion-dollar fund, which president George W. Bush's administration created at the height of the financial crisis.
"Why Herb took this job is beyond me," Geithner said, pointing out the fund was assailed at the time of its creation for helping prop up the financial firms blamed for the economic crisis with taxpayer money.
"It wasn't fair. But it was necessary," he said of the fund, adding that the office Allison led "was absolutely instrumental in keeping our nation out of a second Great Depression." "The fact that TARP is now regarded by many experts as one of the most effective emergency programs in financial history is a direct result of Herb's leadership and all of your hard work," he added. Ahead of key mid-term elections in November, President Barack Obama has been touting his administration's efforts to prop up the US economy, which is showing some signs of recovery but is still struggling to create jobs.