FACTBOX: Paulson offers broad outline on asset relief plan

(Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Friday called for a federal program to remove illiquid assets choking the financial system. He provided few details on what a program might look like, but did announce two new steps to help markets function better.

Below are details from a statement released by Paulson and subsequent comments at a news conference.

* Paulson said the program would need to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars.

* Paulson said administration would ask Congress to take action on a plan next week.

* "This troubled asset relief program must be properly designed and sufficiently large to have maximum impact, while including features that protect the taxpayer to the maximum extent possible. The ultimate taxpayer protection will be the stability this troubled asset relief program provides to our financial system, even as it will involve a significant investment of taxpayer dollars," Paulson said.

* Paulson said mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were placed in a government conservatorship earlier this month, would increase purchases of mortgage-backed securities.

* Paulson said the U.S. Treasury would increase an MBS purchase program announced earlier this month to complement the capital provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

(Compiled by Tim Ahman; Editing by Kenneth Barry)