Geithner: Federal Reserve is best suited to be super financial regulator

September 30th, 2009 Zoellick advocates greater role for US TreasuryWASHINGTON — The president of the World Bank says he opposes giving more authority to the U.S. Federal Reserve, arguing instead that the Treasury Department is better suited to manage financial crises.

September 21st, 2009 Senate bill could weaken the FedWASHINGTON — Consensus is building in the Senate for legislation that would significantly weaken the Federal Reserve by stripping its power to oversee banks and hand that job to a single federal bank regulator. The proposal by Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd to merge federal prudential oversight into a single regulator differs from a plan by President Barack Obama.

July 28th, 2009 Geithner: US, China response halted global crisisWASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner credits the response of the United States and Chinese governments for pulling the global financial system back from the brink of failure. Geithner says both countries capped two days of high-level talks Tuesday with an agreement from China to increase domestic consumption to reduce its reliance on exports to U.S.

July 25th, 2009 Geithner, Bernanke at odds on consumer protectionWASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke staked out opposing sides Friday in a turf war over who should protect Americans from shady mortgage lending, abusive credit card fees, payday loans and other high-cost or risky financial products. The White House wants to create a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to oversee a vast range of financial products, stripping the Federal Reserve and other banking regulators of their current authority for policing them.

July 24th, 2009 Geithner defends financial oversight reformWASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Friday that a new agency focused on protecting consumers is needed because the mission currently is too scattered among various regulators. This results in "finger-pointing in place of action," he told the House Financial Services Committee.

June 25th, 2009 Geithner: administration pushing financial reformWASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday the administration will send legislative language to Congress in the next few days to create a consumer financial products agency, one of the key parts of its overhaul plan. Following a meeting with the president's working group on financial markets, Geithner told reporters the administration was moving quickly to get the measure through Congress and to promote better coordination among regulators.

June 18th, 2009 Obama's plan for Fed worries some in CongressWASHINGTON — President Barack Obama's plan to transform the Federal Reserve into a super-regulator ran into skepticism Thursday from lawmakers who worry that the central bank is not the best suited to keep an eye on firms deemed so big and influential that their demise could hurt the economy. Democrats and Republicans voiced misgivings as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner began a marathon day of selling Obama's financial regulatory plan to give the Fed more authority, create a new consumer protection agency and bring unregulated sectors of the financial markets under government oversight.

June 18th, 2009 Dollar advances on upbeat economic reportsNEW YORK — The dollar rose slightly against major currencies Thursday as several upbeat reports on the economy encouraged investors, while President Barack Obama's plan to transform the Federal Reserve into a super-regulator ran into skepticism. A private sector group said its forecast of economic activity rose more than expected in May, marking a second straight gain after seven months of declines.

June 18th, 2009 Lawmakers wonder if Fed is best mega-regulatorWASHINGTON — Senior lawmakers are questioning the Obama administration's plan to task the Federal Reserve with monitoring firms deemed so big and influential that their demise could hurt the economy. Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, sharply questioned Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the proposal, which he says represents a "grossly inflated view" of the Fed's expertise.

June 18th, 2009 Geithner defends plan to step up oversightWASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says it is clear that the government could have done more to prevent the economic downfall. In prepared testimony, Geithner says that gaps and weaknesses in the regulatory framework governing banks and other financial institutions "presented challenges" to the government's ability to monitor and address risky market bets.

June 6th, 2009 Treasury, key lawmaker differ on risk overseerWASHINGTON — The Obama administration and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank are at odds over how the government can best spot potential institutional meltdowns that could spread and put the nation's financial system at risk. The differences between Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Frank, a key and influential congressional voice on banking, come as the administration prepares to send Congress a package of proposed regulatory changes designed to avert the crisis that struck the financial sector last year.

May 31st, 2009 Geithner sees hopeful signs in US economyBEIJING — U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says the U.S.

May 9th, 2009 AP Sources: White House likes making Fed supercopWASHINGTON — The White House is telling industry officials it is leaning toward wanting the Federal Reserve to become the supercop for "too big to fail" companies capable of causing another financial meltdown. Officials who attended a private one-hour meeting Friday said the administration made it clear it was not inclined to divide the job among various regulatory agencies, as suggested by industry and some federal regulators.

May 9th, 2009 AP Sources: Obama wants Fed to be finance supercopWASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve could become the supercop for "too big to fail" companies capable of causing another financial meltdown under a proposal being seriously considered by the White House. The Obama administration told industry officials on Friday that it was leaning toward making such a recommendation, according to officials who attended a private one-hour meeting between President Barack Obama's economic advisers and representatives from about a dozen banks, hedge funds and other financial groups.

March 26th, 2009 WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama's administration, in a massive overhaul of the country's financial regulatory system, is seeking the power to keep watch on all types of financial firms and to seize failing companies integral to the health of the system. US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner unveiled the plans in congressional testimony on Thursday, arguing that the current financial turmoil has proven the system is 'too unstable and fragile' to be allowed to manage itself.