Bair counters Treasury reform package

WASHINGTON, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., told House committee members she disagreed with key points of a Treasury reform initiative.

Hours after Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner testified before the House Financial Services Committee, Bair said the council made up of members of several regulatory agencies proposed by the Treasury would not have the power "to effectively address systemic risks," The New York Times reported Thursday.

Bair also said the council should be chaired by someone independent of the agencies involved, rather than the Treasury secretary, as the initiative proposed.

The Treasury's proposal calls for large financial firms to take care of their own, rather than taxpayers, if one of them fails. It calls for companies to pay for interventions necessary with a funds that would be raised after one of them fails.

Bair said she preferred raising the funds ahead of time. "A pre-funded Financial Company Resolution Fund … allows all large firms to pay risk-based assessments … not just the survivors after any resolution," she said.