Geithner defends finance reforms

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US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has defended the Obama administration's planned financial reforms.

There is opposition to one of Mr Geithner's key proposals to create a new consumer-focused government agency.

He told Congress that the agency would streamline oversight rather than add to bureaucracy because it would assume other regulators' duties.

"We can't let momentum for reform fade as memory of the crisis recedes," Mr Geithner said.

President Barack Obama has proposed many changes for the financial industry aimed at preventing a situation similar to the one that led to the collapse of several banks a year ago.

This includes plans to create a Consumer Financial Protection Agency that would regulate such products as credit cards and mortgages.

It would also force banks to offer low-risk standard versions of these products.

"We simply cannot walk away from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression and not do everything in our power to reform the system that contributed to this breakdown," Mr Geithner said in a testimony before the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

The chairman of the committee, Democrat Barney Frank, supports the creation of the new agency, but wants to exempt several industries, including retailers, property agents, accountants, lawyers and car dealers.