FOREX-Dollar gains vs euro after Geithner outlines plans

* Treasury invests $75-100 bln; FDIC offers financing

* Trichet says ECB reluctant for rates to fall to zero

* U.S. existing home sales post unexpected gain in Feb (Recasts, adds comment, updates prices, changes byline)

By Nick Olivari

NEW YORK, March 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar rose against the euro and maintained gains against the yen on Monday on lingering doubts by currency investors about the Obama administration's plan to clean up bank balance sheets.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said markets for banks' non-performing assets are "stuck" and that the government's programs are intended to alleviate this.

The government's release of details of the plan to get toxic assets off bank balance sheets drove up U.S. stock indexes as much as 4 percent, but foreign exchange investors remained hesitant on the outlook for the economy despite the plan.

Analysts said that Geithner, speaking after the U.S. Treasury's official announcement of the plan, provided no more specifics.

The Treasury said the government would put in $75 billion to $100 billion from its bailout fund to partner with private investors and buy troubled assets at the heart of the financial crisis. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve will also be tapped to offer further financing. For details, see [ID:nSP429491] and [ID:nWEN6344].

"There are still some lingering concerns about the details of the plan, specifically at what price the government will buy the assets," said Matthew Strauss, senior currency strategist at RBC Capital Markets in Toronto. "So we're seeing the dollar rise a little bit because of this."

A better-than-expected U.S. existing home sales report for February had minimal impact on trading [ID:nN23499930].

The euro was last down 0.2 percent against the dollar at $1.3558 after going as low as $1.3487.

The yen -- which along with the dollar has been the other major gainer during the recent times of financial stress -- came under heavy selling pressure, falling to a five-month low against the euro and a 16-week low against sterling.

The yen was broadly weaker, with the dollar up 1.3 percent at 97.12 yen and the euro jumping on electronic trading platform EBS to hit a five-month high of 132.28 yen before retreating to 131.70.

Sterling also hit a 16-week high of 141.85 yen , while the Australian dollar rose to a 2-1/2 month high of 67.84 yen.

But offsetting some of the dollar's allure was continued trading on the Federal Reserve's plan to purchase longer-term Treasuries, which was announced last week. Investors are concerned the policy could lead to an oversupply in the world's main reserve currency.