By David Lawder and Patrick Rucker
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is battling an epic financial crisis that hasn't paused since the Obama administration took over, but the department's bank-like, colonnaded building still has a lot of empty desks.
With only a handful of key staff in place, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is working to formulate policy to shore up banks, stabilize housing and restart credit flows with little more than a skeleton crew of close advisers.
The Obama administration has yet to submit nominations for key Treasury posts such as deputy secretary and undersecretaries for domestic finance and international affairs. Many lower level policy positions remain unfilled.
The "Treasury Officials" page of the U.S. Treasury website lists only one biography -- Geithner's.
The staff deficit has slowed the development of initiatives that are desperately craved by financial markets at a time when economic conditions are worsening, increasing potential losses for financial institutions. Geithner's Feb. 10 bank plan announcement was panned by investors for its lack of detail.
"The global crisis is increasing the 'to do' list of the Treasury at a time in the political cycle where its human resources are at a low, forcing existing staff to take on a heavy burden," Mohamed El-Erian, chief executive of influential bond giant Pacific Investment Management Co., told Reuters.
Making matters worse, financial institutions that have already been bailed out twice are coming back to ask Geithner for a third round of government aid, diverting attention away from filling in the details on a bank stabilization plan.
Insurance giant American International Group
WHO YOU GONNA CALL?
Financial trade groups have expressed frustration that they do not yet know who to contact at the department regarding pressing financial issues.
A number of senior financial institution executives said they have not been consulted on the Treasury's programs and informal outreach has been minimal.
Treasury spokesman Isaac Baker made no apologies for the staffing, saying the administration was taking "unprecedented" action to foster economic recovery in very short period.
"From passing a recovery bill to crafting a framework for financial stability and mortgage affordability, there's a significant amount of work being done by both a group of appointees and a significant army of talented career professionals at Treasury," he said.
Obama administration officials note that both in the Clinton and Bush transitions, it took several months to secure Senate confirmation of some top positions. Sen. Jesse Helms blocked Bush nominees for deputy Treasury secretary and domestic finance for more than six months in 2001.
People familiar with the matter expect Obama to submit several top Treasury nominations shortly. For details, see [ID:nN24358743]
LOST TIME
Several former Treasury officials who worked at the Treasury in the Bush administration expressed surprise they did not have more contact with Obama's team after the election.
"We were prepared to accommodate. It didn't happen. There were some meetings, but they were one-off and weren't structured," said one former official. The former officials asked not to be named because they expect to have ongoing dealings with the government.
Geithner has been helped by people in advisory roles, including Lee Sachs, a fund manager who served in the Treasury during the Clinton administration and who is expected to be nominated soon for the top domestic finance job.
American Bankers Association policy executive Wayne Abernathy, a former Bush Treasury official, said Geithner must move quickly to gain market confidence.
"He has to deliver. He has certainly come forward with a plan that is comprehensive and cohesive but what it lacks is actionable detail," Abernathy said. "I think he has got a very brief window to implement this before his actions are no longer bold and quick." (Additional reporting by Jennifer Ablan and Megan Davies in New York and John Poirier in Washington; Editing by Neil Stempleman)