STEVE INSKEEP, host: Some big, private investors have praised the Obama administration's new plan to deal with the toxic assets now clogging the banking system. Those investors are the very people whose support is considered critical of the plan's success. And we have more this morning from NPR's Jim Zarroli.</s>JIM ZARROLI: The plan is designed as a public-private partnership. Whether it works will depend in large part on whether big investors, like hedge funds and private-equity firms, can be persuaded to participate. U.S. officials hope these firms will be willing to buy some of the toxic assets from banks, funneling new capital their way and helping stimulate the credit markets. And the government is offering financing to make it worth their while. Curtis Arledge of BlackRock, one of the largest asset-management firms, said the Treasury Department had designed a plan with the right mix of incentives.</s>Ms. CURTIS ARLEDGE (BlackRock): I think they completely understand what it will take to both balance the protection of taxpayer interests with the need to ensure that private investors are going want to participate in these programs.</s>JIM ZARROLI: The plan also generated some preliminary support from other big investors, including the Carlyle Group and the big bond firm PIMCO. But some investors said they would wait to hear more details. And one official expressed concern that Congress would impose restrictions on those firms that participate to limit executive pay, for instance. He said investors want to know that the rules won't be changed midstream. But Treasury officials insisted yesterday that no such restrictions are planned.</s>JIM ZARROLI: Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.
The Obama administration's plan to wipe toxic assets off bank balance sheets seems to be winning some early support from investors — including some of the big private investors whose support will be critical to its success.