Geithner: wants quick, clean exit from auto firms

BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Monday that he was optimistic that U.S. automakers would emerge from bankruptcy without the need for future government help.

"We want a quick, clean exit as soon as conditions permit," Geithner told students at Peking University in Beijing. "We're very optimistic these firms will emerge (from restructuring) without further government assistance."

General Motors Corp (GM.N) will file for bankruptcy on Monday, U.S. officials said, forcing the 100-year-old automaker once seen as a symbol of American economic might and dynamism into a new and uncertain era of government ownership.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Writing by Jason Subler; Editing by Ken Wills)