September 24, 2009

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has defended the Obama administration's planned financial reforms.There is opposition to one of Mr Geithner's key proposals to create a new consumer-focused government agency.He told Congress that the agency would streamline oversight rather than add to bureaucracy because it would assume other regulators' duties."We can't let momentum for reform fade as memory of the crisis recedes," Mr Geithner said.

President Barack Obama has proposed many changes for the financial industry aimed at preventing a situation similar to the one that led to the collapse of several banks a year ago.This includes plans to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that would regulate such products as credit cards and mortgages.It would also force banks to offer low-risk standard versions of these products.