At a small business finance forum in Washington, Timothy Geithner reminded small businesses that the credit crunch is not over yet and warned listeners not to get too far ahead of themselves. He went on to explain that while many big businesses are already seeing profits, small business owners still have more recovering to do. Checkout the following CNNMoney.com article on the event below.
One day after Goldman Sachs' CEO apologized for his bank's role in the financial meltdown, Treasury Secretary Geithner called on the nation's financiers to step up and do more to fix the damage they helped cause.
"This credit crunch is not over," Geithner at a small business financing forum in Washington hosted by the Treasury. "It may feel dramatically better for large companies, but it is not over for small businesses across the country."
The nation's banking system was stabilized with taxpayer dollars, and Geithner said he holds the biggest banks accountable for passing the torch from Wall Street to Main Street.
"Banks bear some responsibility for the extent of the damage caused by the crisis," he said. "And they carry a substantial obligation to help our communities get back on their feet."
Geithner and an assortment of top Washington officials, including Small Business Administrator Karen Mills, met Wednesday with a gathering of bankers and small business owners to address the credit crunch that has plagued small business owners for more than a year. Frozen out by banks unwilling to make risky lending bets on startups and small companies, the nation's 6 million small employers are struggling.