WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Before heading to Rome for the Group of Seven meeting, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner Thursday plans to meet with President Barack Obama's economic team and other officials on efforts to stem foreclosures and thaw credit markets.
A notice the Treasury Department released Thursday morning said Geithner Thursday morning will attend a White House meeting with the economic team to discuss efforts to keep Americans in their homes.
The meeting comes as a growing number of federal officials are urging banks to hold off on foreclosures until the new administration announces its multi-billion-dollar plan to ease the pain in the housing markets. On Wednesday, bank executives with Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) suggested they would be willing to halt foreclosures over the next few weeks as the Obama administration hashes out a plan.
Meanwhile, the federal regulator for U.S. thrifts called for a moratorium on foreclosure proceedings until the administration rolls out its plan to help struggling homeowners.
The Office of Thrift Supervision urged the institutions it oversees to suspend foreclosures over the next few weeks as the White House and Treasury Department finalize their $50 billion plan to address the turmoil in the housing sector.
Separately, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., told reporters he expects most banks will oblige and temporarily halt foreclosures. "I believe you will get well over 95% of the banks to hold off. Foreclosures - they (the banks) know they're not in their interest," Frank told reporters Wednesday.
Later Thursday, Geithner will meet with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn for a discussion about how the Treasury and the IMF can work on strengthening the global financial system.
Additionally, Geithner will attend a meeting with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers to discuss the new financial rescue plan Geithner unveiled earlier this week. The plan could send $2 trillion into the U.S. financial system and includes efforts to remove soured mortgage-related assets from banks' balance sheets and new plans to "stress test" banks aiming to receive new capital infusions from the government.
Thursday night, Geithner is slated to fly to Rome for the meeting of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations. According to a senior Treasury official, Geithner will urge his G7 counterparts to take "bold" actions to spur growth and shore up the global financial system.
-By Maya Jackson Randall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9255, maya.jackson-randall@dowjones.com
(Michael Crittenden and Tom Barkley contributed to this report)
A notice the Treasury Department released Thursday morning said Geithner Thursday morning will attend a White House meeting with the economic team to discuss efforts to keep Americans in their homes.
The meeting comes as a growing number of federal officials are urging banks to hold off on foreclosures until the new administration announces its multi-billion-dollar plan to ease the pain in the housing markets. On Wednesday, bank executives with Citigroup (C) and Bank of America (BAC) suggested they would be willing to halt foreclosures over the next few weeks as the Obama administration hashes out a plan.
Meanwhile, the federal regulator for U.S. thrifts called for a moratorium on foreclosure proceedings until the administration rolls out its plan to help struggling homeowners.
The Office of Thrift Supervision urged the institutions it oversees to suspend foreclosures over the next few weeks as the White House and Treasury Department finalize their $50 billion plan to address the turmoil in the housing sector.
Separately, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass., told reporters he expects most banks will oblige and temporarily halt foreclosures. "I believe you will get well over 95% of the banks to hold off. Foreclosures - they (the banks) know they're not in their interest," Frank told reporters Wednesday.
Later Thursday, Geithner will meet with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn for a discussion about how the Treasury and the IMF can work on strengthening the global financial system.
Additionally, Geithner will attend a meeting with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orszag and National Economic Council Director Larry Summers to discuss the new financial rescue plan Geithner unveiled earlier this week. The plan could send $2 trillion into the U.S. financial system and includes efforts to remove soured mortgage-related assets from banks' balance sheets and new plans to "stress test" banks aiming to receive new capital infusions from the government.
Thursday night, Geithner is slated to fly to Rome for the meeting of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations. According to a senior Treasury official, Geithner will urge his G7 counterparts to take "bold" actions to spur growth and shore up the global financial system.
-By Maya Jackson Randall, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-9255, maya.jackson-randall@dowjones.com
(Michael Crittenden and Tom Barkley contributed to this report)
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