US Treasury Secretary Promises Aggressive Regulatory Reform
By Meena Thiruvengadam, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Friday
vowed to take an aggressive approach to reforming regulations governing the
financial sector, saying the Obama administration feels that is what the economy
needs.
"We had a financial system that did a terrible job of protecting consumers, of
building a strong, stable financial system less prone to crisis," he said in a
Friday interview with "The NewsHour With Jim Lehrer." "We are going to have to
fix that, and I feel a deep personal obligation to make sure I'm doing
everything I can to help this president bring that about."
Geithner urged the American public to judge the administration by its actions
and promised "sweeping reforms" for the nation's financial system. Those reforms
likely will include efforts to alter Wall Street pay structures, he said.
Geithner struck a somewhat optimistic tone in the interview, urging viewers to
"to focus on the things that are getting better."
Payroll data released earlier Friday showed that the pace of U.S. job losses
appears to be slowing. While job losses still are high, some view the slowdown
as an encouraging sign.
Friday's report on nonfarm payrolls showed the shedding of 539,000 jobs in
April and revealed that the U.S. unemployment rate has risen to 8.9% - the
highest level in more than 25 years.
"These are terrible numbers at one level, but it is important that the pace of
job loss is slowing a bit," Geithner said in the interview. "That's an important
beginning."
Still, he warned the economy is "not going to feel very good for the average
American for some time."
-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629;
meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
05-08-091912ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
|