US Treasury secretary's role in sub-prime questioned

A US Senate Banking committee has called on Treasury secretary Henry Paulson to address concerns raised over the role he played in the sub-prime meltdown.

Committee member Chris Dodd said he was 'deeply concerned' about recent reports which accused Goldman Sachs of ' injecting dangerous financial products into the world's commercial bloodstream' during Paulson's tenure as chief of the company.

'If these facts are indeed true, the administration's inaction when this crisis began to emerge earlier this year is increasingly suspect. It is in the best interest of resolving this crisis if secretary Paulson . . . addresses the concerns. Failure to do so may be cause for a more formal investigation,' Dodd said.

The committee's concerns come a day after Paulson urged Congress to push through housing laws which would arrest early mortgage foreclosures next year, a report said.

President Bush has so far acknowledged the measures but he maintained that there would be no bail-out for mortgage lenders.

Further reading:

Senator Dodd Asks Paulson About Goldman Subprime Role

Sen Dodd questions on Paulson's role at Goldman

US Sen Dodd Threatens Investigation Of Treasury Secretary Paulson