SEC may seek power to reform pay practices: Geithner

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission may seek new powers that would allow it to encourage compensation reform at public companies, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

"As you'll hear from us in the next few days, the SEC has some important responsibilities and obligations in this area, and some tools and authorities they may seek in this area," Geithner told a Senate Appropriations subcommittee.

An SEC spokesman did not have an immediate comment.

The Obama administration will soon announce a plan to reform compensation practices across the financial industry to discourage excessive risk-taking, Geithner said.

Officials are also set to outline as soon as Wednesday new rules on compensation at firms that have received federal bailout funds, sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Geithner said bank supervisors, including the Federal Reserve, are also working on compensation reform by drafting pay standards and principles for the financial sector.

"Those are two ways we can have influence over the shape of practices in this area. There are other ways too, but my own sense is that the core will be those two authorities," Geithner said.

(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; editing by John Wallace)