A MAN could shave in the reflections from the shiny cars pulling into the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, where Neel Kashkari made his first public appearance as head of the US government's $700 billion bailout programme for vulnerable banks.
An official with virtually no public profile until last week - and often taken for a bodyguard in light of his constant presence beside US treasury secretary Hank Paulson - the former Goldman Sachs executive drew a large crowd for a breakfast speech to members of the Institute for International Bankers.
Among the assembled financiers, there was black humour as Kashkari sat in a chair to read his notes outside the Corcoran Ballroom in preparation for his 8am address. "I'm going to have a meltdown in the meltdown," said one man, complaining about the coffee.
In piercing light from television cameras, Kashkari duly took his place on the podium and was introduced by Waldo Abbot, chief of Fortis America. "We wish him well as he undertakes his enormously challenging assignment."
Although there had been some expectation that Kashkari might announce a government investment in banks there and then, he simply said the equity injections would be aimed at companies in sound condition. "The equity purchase programme will be voluntary and designed with attractive terms to encourage participation from healthy institutions."
Later yesterday it emerged that Paulson was meeting leading market participants and Federal Reserve officials to finalise the parameters of the stabilisation plan.
In Kashkari's account, the treasury use the troubled assets relief programme (Tarp) to "attack" bad debt clogging financial markets from multiple directions. Three companies are in the shake-out for the role of "master custodian" of the distressed assets the government plans to buy, he said, and the selection would be made within 24 hours. "We are working around the clock to make it happen."
While Kashkari's punishing schedule during the turmoil of recent weeks is widely recognised, there's no let-up in store. "He isn't going to have an hour off," one man observed.
Aged 35, Kashkari was a rocket scientist working on Nasa projects before he changed course to take an MBA and secured a post in Goldman. There he met Paulson, who held the top seat in Goldman before entering government two years ago, and was invited by him to join his treasury team as special adviser.
Referring to the fact that Kashkari worked in Goldman's outpost in San Francisco, one attendee said yesterday that Kashkari "wasn't in head office". That sums up lingering questions about Kashkari's relative youth and his comparatively short stint as an investment banker.
The man himself spoke with the confidence of someone who has the ear of the White House.
The Tarp will operate in three ways, Kashkari said. "One, an auction purchase of troubled assets; two, a broad equity or direct purchase programme; and three, a case of an intervention to prevent the impending failure of a systemically significant institution."
Firms that bid on Tarp programme jobs will have to disclose and address their potential conflicts of interest, he added, and the treasury will conduct an independent evaluation before making its financial decision.
