Wall Street got an earful Monday from Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during a speech at New York University's Stern School of Business. In remarks that both criticized and encouraged those in attendance, the secretary defended the administration's recent financial reform bill, and explained the industry's responsibilities in the wake of it passage.
"We had an obligation to rebuild our financial system so it could, once again, be an engine for economic growth and innovation," Geithner said, according to text of the speech provided by the Treasury Department. "The reforms that are now the law of the land will help us rebuild a pro-growth, pro-investment financial system. We will move as quickly as possible to bring clarity to the new rules of finance. The rule writing process traditionally has moved at a frustrating, glacial pace. We must change that."
He went on to say that the new rules will not be layered on top of old, outdated ones, calling such layers of rules "overwhelming." As a result, alongside efforts to strengthen and improve protections for the economy, he said his department and regulators will eliminate rules that did not work, and streamline and simplify whenever possible.
