Geithner urges Americans to be optimistic about US economy

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Source: CCTV.com | 03-30-2009 10:20

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US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner is urging Americans to be optimistic about the country's economy.

Geithner was speaking on Sunday, in a bid to promote President Barak Obama's efforts to revive the ailing economy and gain more control over the financial sector.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testifies before the House Financial Services Committee on "Addressing the Need for Comprehensive Regulatory Reform" on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 26, 2009. (AFP/File/Jim Watson)

Timothy Geithner, US Treasury Secretary, said, "To get out of this we need banks to take a chance on businesses, to take risk again. We had a long period where banks were taking too much risk. The challenge for us is that they take too little now. And for us to get through this we need investors and banks to be willing to take a chance again on providing credit to that business that's got a great idea and needs to grow and expand."

Timothy Geithner says the plan to buy up toxic assets on bank balance sheets is critical to restarting the flow of credit.

He says the goal is to clear away bad assets and ensure that lenders have the capital to grant loans to businesses and people.

He says the government needs banks to take a chance on lending. Geithner also defended the latest plan which brings together the public and private sectors in a joint bid to buy up dubious assets saying this was the best way to minimize the risk of loss to taxpayers.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei