Federal, Treasury Chiefs call for more power to regulate financial companies

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Source: CCTV.com | 03-25-2009 09:50

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke have called for more power to regulate huge financial companies.

Lawmakers are still fuming over the payment of some 165 million dollars in bonuses to AIG executives.

US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, left, accompanied by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, center, and  William Dudley president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York William Dudley, testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, March 24, 2009, before a House Financial Services Committee hearing on AIG.(AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AIG had received around 180 billion dollars from the US government's bailout funds.

Facing the Congress on Tuesday, Geithner called for new authority to shut down troubled institutions like AIG. He said this would avoid future government bailouts.

Geithner asked for unprecedented power to take over major non-bank financial companies that act irresponsibly.

Timothy Geithner, Treasury Secretary, said, "As we have seen with AIG, distress at large, interconnected, non-depository financial institutions can pose systemic risks just as distress at banks can. The Administration proposes legislation to give the U.S. government the same basic set of tools for addressing financial distress at non-banks as it has in the bank context."