INSTANT VIEW-U.S. Senate backs Geithner as Treasury Secretary

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Monday backed Timothy Geithner to be Treasury secretary, setting aside misgivings about his failure to pay some taxes in light of his experience battling the financial crisis.

KEY POINTS: * Geithner, 47, was expected to be sworn in quickly to help lead President Barack Obama's efforts to stabilise a worsening economy. * In coming weeks, he is expected to unveil reforms to the United States' $700 billion financial bailout program to provide more support for housing and credit markets, and possibly a new effort to absorb troubled assets from banks.

COMMENTS:

MARK FREEMAN, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, WESTWOOD HOLDINGS GROUP,

DALLAS, TEXAS:

"Ultimately for the financial markets what matters is that it (the Geithner confirmation) removes yet another element of uncertainty. The next step now is that the market will be looking for the details of any plan coming from the administration.

"With this administration, there may be more of a collaborative effort rather than the focus being all on the Treasury Secretary. Maybe that has taken a little bit of the impact away from this single decision, although it is a very important decision."

DOUG ROBERTS, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, CHANNEL CAPITAL

RESEARCH, SHREWSBURY, NEW JERSEY:

"He's the best person available. His real test is going to come when he presents the comprehensive package that Obama has been talking about. He's going to the point man on it."

"Hopefully the market will react better than it did to Hank Paulson. It seemed as if every time he spoke, you'd just hope he'd stop as quickly as possible."

JOHN LONSKI, CHIEF ECONOMIST, MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE, NEW

YORK:

"I think it's helpful in that it reduces uncertainties facing the financial markets. Investors appreciate Mr. Geithner as he is very much familiar with the crisis now afflicting the financial sector -- and then some. There is some continuity involved in view of Mr. Geithner since he has been closely involved with the financial market turmoil prior to and since the collapse of Lehman Brothers. In other words, Mr. Geithner won't need any on-the-job training."

DAVID KOTOK, CHIEF INVESTMENT OFFICER, CUMBERLAND ADVISORS,

VINELAND, NEW JERSEY:

"It's no surprise. It was clear even before the hearings started -- one wouldn't expect the Obama administration to press forward without them having a great deal of comfort that he would be confirmed.

"The revelations that took place before the confirmation hearing, the hearing and the written questions revealed a lot of information to investors and analysts. He starts out weakened.

"If there are no future revelations or findings then he can overcome the damage. If something else happens and it piles on, then it becomes very serious.

"One thing that struck me is that the Obama administration used Paul Volcker to speak up for Tim Geithner. That is their strongest political capital. By using Volcker this early, they have already played their strongest card, Volcker has tremendous credibility worldwide and the fact he had to be brought out at the very beginning is unfortunate."

SUNG WON SOHN, PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS, CALIFORNIA STATE

UNIVERSITY, CAMARILLO, CALIFORNIA:

"He needs to get going as soon as possible. The financial markets can't wait and we need to underpin the markets and the economy."

"The whole world is certainly looking for some specifics about the stimulus package, beginning with how much."

BRET BARKER, PORTFOLIO MANAGER, METROPOLITAN WEST ASSET

MANAGEMENT, LOS ANGELES:

"We feel Geithner is a logical choice to handle the current situation. His early experience under (former Treasury Secretaries) Robert Rubin, Larry Summers and later heading the New York Federal Reserve gives him the experience to approach the situation with discipline and assurance. It would have been a negative if, for some reason, he was not confirmed. The markets are all expecting his confirmation and looking towards getting a solution in place."

MARKET REACTION: BONDS-U.S. Treasury bond futures slip