WASHINGTON, March 5 (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday said that restarting the flow of credit to consumers and businesses was a critical priority for the Obama administration
Geithner, testifying before the House of Representatives Budget Committee, reiterated that a $250 billion budget "placeholder" for financial stability efforts was not an estimate of future funding needs.
He said the administration will continue to target three critical areas for financial system support -- capital resources for banks, direct support for credit markets and programs to aid the housing sector.
The placeholder is "a resrve fund in the budget, very much in the spirit of how we account for foreign wars and natural disasters. It's not a request at this time or an estimate of what we think we ultimately need," Geithner said. (Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Theodore d'Afflisio)