Dodd backs Geithner, sees regulatory separation

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, Christopher Dodd, on Thursday said he still has confidence in Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, whose job performance has come under increased scrutiny in recent days.

"I do and the president does and that's what's key," Dodd told reporters after a hearing focused on restructuring U.S. financial regulation to prevent future crises like the one now shaking markets and the economy.

Two key initiatives being studied are setting up a "systemic risk regulator" that would have a view of the financial big picture, which no agency now has, and empowering an agency to unwind failing non-bank financial institutions.

Asked if he thought those roles should be separated, Dodd said, "I do ... I think it has to be."

(Reporting by John Poirier, Kevin Drawbaugh, Karey Wutkowski; Editing by Leslie Adler)