Congressional leaders have released final legislation to create a $700 billion bailout of the financial markets. The House plans a vote on the rescue bill Monday, and the Senate is expected to follow later this week.

The rescue is the largest government intervention in financial markets since the Great Depression. It would let the government take over huge amounts of devalued assets from beleaguered financial companies in hopes of unlocking frozen credit.

The summary, obtained from a congressional aide, said the Treasury would obtain equity warrants from companies participating in the program to help ensure the taxpayer would benefit in the future if the share prices of the firms increased.

It also states that the Securities and Exchange Commission will be given the authority to suspend mark to market accounting rules if the agency deems it necessary. And it authorizes the Federal Reserve to start paying interest on the regulatory reserves it requires financial firms to hold for capital adequacy reasons in 2008, rather than in three years’ time as it is currently scheduled to do.

The summary details the limits that would be imposed on senior executives at companies taking part in the scheme. They would differ depending on whether the Treasury directly purchased the toxic assets from a company or if the firm participated in an auction process to sell mortgage-linked assets to the federal government.

The board established to have oversight responsibilities of the bailout package would be comprised of the Treasury Secretary, the Fed chairman, the SEC chairman, the director of the Federal Home Finance Agency and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

There would also be a separate oversight board created by Congress, and also oversight responsibilities held by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the U.S. Comptroller General and the creation of a Special Inspector General.

The full text of the legislation underpinning the $700 billion bailout is expected to be released by Congress later Sunday, before the Asian markets open.

(Source: Fox News / Wall Street Journal)