Geithner: No decision yet on request for more TARP funds

The Obama administration has not made up its mind as to whether or not it will seek authorization for more TARP funds to assist the financial industry, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said Wednesday.

“If we get to the point where we believe to get through this crisis we’re going to need additional resources, we’ll go to the Congress and make that case,” Geither told the Washington Economic Club. “But we’ve not made that judgment yet, don’t need to make that judgment yet.”

Geithner’s remarks punt for a while longer the administration’s position on requesting more bailout funds for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a request that could prove politically thorny for the administration.

Geithner also said that the Treasury would be careful to accept quick repayments of TARP funds from bailed-out banks, reasoning that it could sop up liquidity in the credit market should the financial institutions rush repayment. The secretary did add, however, that he expects a “substantial amount” of the loans to be repaid.

“It’s very important that we underscore the fact that our obligation is to make sure the system as a whole is in a position where, again, it’s not working against recovery, it’s not deepening the recession by pulling oxygen out of the credit markets,” Geithner explained.