Paulson to speak on economy, markets next week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson will deliver remarks on financial markets and the economy on Tuesday in New York, the Treasury said on Thursday.

The scheduling of the speech at the New York Public Library comes as Paulson and other Treasury officials have been trying to shore up investor confidence in mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Paulson on Sunday called on Congress to give the Treasury unlimited temporary authority to provide loans or equity capital to the two government-sponsored enterprises if needed to keep them viable. He has argued that the federal backstop would allay any market concerns about the stability of the two pillars of U.S. mortgage market liquidity.

The Treasury secretary wants to attach the GSE plan to a major housing market rescue and regulatory reform bill now under consideration by Congress and has been scrambling to shore up support among skeptical conservative Republicans.

Earlier on Thursday, Anthony Ryan, the Treasury's acting undersecretary for domestic finance, defended the GSE "ultimate backstop" plan, saying that specifying a dollar amount on credit lines would limit the plan's effectiveness.

"I think it limits it, and it creates additional challenges for the marketplace. It looks different than it does when it's unconditioned and unlimited," Ryan told CNBC television.

"It sends a very strong, unequivocal message when they know the marketplace has ultimate access" to adequate liquidity and capital, he added.

(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Leslie Adler)