Frank wants second half of bailout released now

Frank is "committed to fixing" low participation but blames the Bush administration for resisting the program when it was debated in Congress last summer and being slow to fix problems in its design, said his spokesman Steve Adamske.

Meanwhile, financial industry groups are pushing to use the bailout fund to help a wider array of companies, including automotive financing companies such as GMAC Financial Services. GMAC is 51 percent owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP, a private equity firm; General Motors owns the rest.

GMAC, which provides financing for GM vehicle and dealer loans along with home mortgages, is having trouble finding adequate support from its bondholders for a debt transaction that would allow it to become a bank holding company and gain eligibility for bailout money.

"What good does it do to bail out the automakers if you can't get a loan to buy a car?" said Scott Talbott, chief lobbyist for the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents more than 100 large banks, brokerage firms and insurance companies.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve on Monday said it has approved CIT Group Inc. as a bank holding company, clearing a key hurdle for the firm to bolster its resources with loans and support from the government's financial rescue fund. The decision means the New York-based commercial financial services firm will have permanent access to the Fed's emergency loan window and will be eligible for loans from the $700 billion rescue fund created by Congress on Oct. 3.

Commercial real estate developers said Monday they also are petitioning the government for support from the $700 billion rescue fund. The Real Estate Roundtable said an estimated $400 billion of commercial real estate mortgages will come due by the end of 2009 without adequate refinancing options.

Industry officials said thousands of office buildings, hotels, shopping centers and other commercial buildings could be headed into foreclosure or bankruptcy unless the government provides support.

NYT: Taxpayers at risk with mortgage giants Even as the biggest banks repay their government debt in what is being heralded as a successful rescue program, four giants of the financial world remain on government life support. Senate panel approves Bernanke nomination Recession hits Rust Belt towns hard Latest data points to slow recovery in 2010 Economic survey points to growth in 2010

Jeffrey D. DeBoer, president of the Real Estate Roundtable, said the industry has written to federal officials asking to be included in a new $200 billion loan program being run by the Federal Reserve, with support from the financial bailout program, to bolster the market for credit card debt, auto loans and student loans.

DeBoer said the commercial real estate industry would like to see that program expanded to cover their properties or have a similar program begun to help their industry.

"We think it is critical that as soon as possible that policymakers announce their intentions to make sure that the credit markets function so this huge wave of debt coming due will be able to be refinanced in an orderly process," he told reporters Monday.

Treasury spokeswoman Brookly McLaughlin said no final decisions had been made yet on the request from commercial developers. But she noted that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, when he announced the effort to help the credit card, auto and student-loan markets, said the new lending facility could be expanded and specifically mentioned providing assistance for "commercial mortgage-backed securities."

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