WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Thursday he sees “basic confidence” in the economy, even though credit is “still quite tight” for some borrowers.
For companies that were affected by the recession, “it is still very difficult out there, very hard to get credit,” Geith ner told reporters in Washington on Thursday. “That’s not surprising given the scale of the crisis.”
Geithner will lead a council of regulators that will look for risks to the financial system to avoid a repeat of the worst crisis since the Great Depression.
He said one of the strengths of the panel, created by the financial-regulatory legislation President Barack Obama signed into law Wednesday, is that it will have the authority to examine nonbank financial firms.
“One of the powers given this group is to make sure that the set of rules on leverage, on capital, apply” to banks such as JPMorgan Chase as well as firms including Goldman Sachs, GE Capital and insurer American International Group, he said.
Geithner said tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush for “the most fortunate 2 or 3 percent of Americans” should expire on schedule at the end of this year.
“That will help us begin the process of making a contribution to bringing down our long-term deficits,” he said. “That’s the sensible approach going forward.”
The Treasury secretary also said the administration is “likely to take a broader look” at corporate tax policy next year.
