Governments tend to respond late to crises: Geithner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Governments around the world tended to be too late in responding to financial crises, making them more expensive and damaging, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

"The lesson of this crisis here in this country, and I think it's true the lesson of financial crisis around the world, is that governments tend to underestimate the cost and damage," Geithner said during an interview with CNBC.

"They tend to move too late to address the crises and that makes the crises worse, more expensive and more damaging."

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)