Treasury's Steel quits his post

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Robert Steel, a close advisor to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, announced on Wednesday that he was resigning immediately.

Earlier, Wachovia Corp. announced that it was naming Steel its chief executive.

Steel made no mention in his resignation letter that he was joining Wachovia.

The Treasury Department said that Assistant Secretary for Financial Markets Anthony Ryan would take on a broader role in managing Treasury's domestic finance operations, which includes funding the government's operating needs through the sale of Treasury debt securities.

Steel and Paulson worked closely together for decades at Wall Street investment bank Goldman Sachs and Paulson recruited Steel to Treasury in 2006, just months after Paulson himself took over the department.

"Bob Steel has been a friend and colleague to me for more than 30 years," Paulson said in a statement in which he also said that Ryan would step up to take over more of Steel's work responsibilities.

""I have great confidence in the abilities of the domestic finance team at Treasury to adjust to this change and not miss a beat," Paulson said.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Jan Paschal)