October 27, 2009
Finance sector is "mixed picture," Geithner says
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The financial sector and credit markets have improved dramatically but the overall picture is still "mixed," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.
"The financial sector story is in a much stronger position than it was but it's a mixed picture," Geithner said at a conference sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. "The price of credit has come down dramatically."
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The financial sector and credit markets have improved dramatically but the overall picture is still "mixed," U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.
"The financial sector story is in a much stronger position than it was but it's a mixed picture," Geithner said at a conference sponsored by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association. "The price of credit has come down dramatically."
Geithner says firms making major changes on pay
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Financial firms are making "very significant changes" in how they structure their pay, but more needs to be done, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.
Geithner said the multi-million dollar bonuses being paid out at firms that had received bailout funds is "deeply offensive."
"There is anger people feel," Geithner said at the Reuters Washington Summit. "The frustration they have is completely understandable."
He said some firms are already adopting changes to ensure that pay in the future is tied more closely to performance, that employees who "screw up" have their pay clawed back, and that workers aren't given multi-year guaranteed bonuses.
"I think there actually has been very significant changes already in how people are creating compensation packages" because of the administration's reform efforts, Geithner said. "I don't think they've gone far enough yet."
He also said that the Fed will propose its sweeping rules to reform pay at banks "relatively soon."
