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Fed should lose bailout powers
The Federal Reserve should lose its authority to bail out financial firms under proposed reforms aimed at limiting the damage from failures, US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said. “Any firm that puts itself in a position where it cannot survive without assistance from the government must face the consequences of failure,” Geithner said. The Fed should keep its ability to act as a lender of last resort, but only to solvent firms in times of severe stress in financial markets, he said. Adding: “We cannot put taxpayers in the position of paying for the losses of private financial institutions.”