国际英语新闻：Geithner urges to reform U.S. financial regulatory regime

WASHINGTON, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Thursday that Congress must keep pushing forward to overhaul the nation's financial regulatory regime to ensure a sustained recovery.

    "Unfortunately, the regulatory regime that failed so terribly leading up to the financial crisis is precisely the regulatory regime we have today," Geithner said in testimony prepared for the Congress.

    "That is why recovery alone is not enough. To ensure the vitality, the strength and the stability of our economy going forward, we must bring our system of financial regulation into the21th century," said the Treasury chief. "We need comprehensive financial reform."

    He stated that the central objective of reform is to establish a safer, more stable financial system "that can deliver the benefits of market-driven financial innovation even as it guards against the dangers of market-driven excess."

    It is to ensure that the financial system functions in a way that creates opportunity and reduces risk, Geithner said, adding the reform will provide stronger protections for consumers, investors, and tax-payers.

    He outlined "four key principles," which he said must follow in order to achieve that objective.

    First, firms must not be able to escape or avoid regulation by choosing one legal form over another.

    Second, there must be clear regulatory accountability.

    The third principle is that the financial system as a whole must be more capable of absorbing shocks and coping with failures.

    The fourth and final principle is that no financial institution should be considered "Too Big to Fail."

    "We must be sure we have the necessary tools to cushion the broader financial system against potential shocks, in times of severe stress," said Geithner in the testimony.

    "Otherwise, in a financial panic, credit to our economy, to small businesses and homeowners could grind to a halt," he warned.