Obama a "pragmatist," adviser Parsons says

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A top adviser to Barack Obama on Thursday said the incoming U.S. president would take a pragmatic approach to restoring the health of the ailing U.S. economy and financial markets.

Speaking on CNBC television, Time Warner Inc Chairman Richard Parsons also said Obama's choice to become U.S. Treasury secretary will assure markets worldwide that the new president "is serious about doing what's right, doing what's necessary" to stabilise the financial system.

"This man is a pragmatist," Parsons said, referring to Obama. "I don't think we have a doctrinaire or parisan approach from the President-elect.... What he's going to do is try to put practical solutions in place to solve real problems."

Obama, he said, understands "that the country is in a territory it hasn't been in three generations, in terms of economic turmoil and crisis. He knows he's going to have to step up."

Parsons wouldn't rule out as candidates for Treasury secretary either Lawrence Summers, who held the same role in the Clinton administration, or Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank. Both are widely considered top candidates for the job.

"We're all focussed on how you get credit rolling again," he said. "There's a lot of good dialogue going on right now between the transition group and the President-elect and the current administration."

Separately, Parsons rejected a Wall Street Journal article that said Citigroup Inc's directors were mulling the replacement of the bank's chairman, Sir Win Bischoff, amid displeasure with the bank's performance under Chief Executive Vikram Pandit. Parsons is a Citigroup director, and was named in the article as a possible replacement for Bischoff.

"We've got Vikram Pandit as the CEO. I'm telling you, the guy is terrific," Parsons said. "Win and Vikram and the team have done a lot of very important things. They recognized early on that capital is going to be king.... The balance sheet is strong, and I have every confidence that we have the right team on the field to pull this thing out."

Citigroup shares have fallen 67.9 percent this year. They closed Thursday down 19 cents, or 2 percent, at $9.45, despite gains between 6 percent and 7 percent for major U.S. equity indexes.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Bernard Orr)