The Obama administration's Treasury Secretary-designate Timothy Geithner is calling for "sweeping changes" to the regulatory structure overseeing the financial system.

"We are going to need sweeping changes, in regulatory policy, the oversight structure, and in our tools for crisis management," Geithner wrote in a letter to Democratic Senator Carl Levin, released Friday. "I very much believe that federal oversight needs to be strengthened, including areas of derivatives markets."

This is the third straight day that Geithner has made headlines.

On Thursday, he said the Obama administration believes China is manipulating its currency, signalling a hardline stance that differs from the previous administration's diplomacy on trade issues. On Wednesday, Geithner endured hours of questions from the Senate Finance Committee, much of which focused on his failure to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes from 2001 to 2004.

The Senate panel voted in favour of confirming Geithner's nomination; his full confirmation from the Senate is set for next week.

By Patrick McGee and edited by Sarah Sussman
©CEP News Ltd. 2009