Treasury opposes call that it take equity stakes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department is opposed to any congressional proposal for it to take equity stakes in companies that sell assets to it as part of a bank bailout, sources close to Treasury said on Monday.

Some Democrats on Capitol Hill have criticized the proposal to spend up to $700 billion of taxpayer money to take illiquid assets off the hands of financial institutions, saying the government should get a stake in any company that participates in the plan as compensation.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville)