Frank backs extending TARP, deposit insurance

WASHINGTON, Sept 23 | Wed Sep 23, 2009 1:17pm EDT

WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. Representative Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, said on Wednesday that the government's $700-billion financial bailout program should be extended.

"Of course it should be extended," he said. "Nobody who wasn't totally opposed to it at the beginning thinks it shouldn't be extended."

The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, is scheduled to expire on Dec. 31, but could be extended into 2010.

Frank also said the limit on federal bank deposit insurance, raised temporarily during the financial crisis to $250,000, should also be extended.

"That's got to be extended too," he told reporters after a hearing on financial regulation reform.

Congress raised the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage limit to $250,000 from $100,000 in October 2008. (Reporting by Kevin Drawbaugh;)

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