U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday said third quarter growth figures showed the U.S. economy was stabilizing but it was in the early phase of recovery and difficulties still lay ahead.

The U.S. government must keep reinforcing economic growth as risks of a credit crunch remain, Geithner said during a seminar at the Economic Club of Chicago.

He added that there was broad support for the overhaul of the U.S. financial regulatory system and it was on track to achieve major reforms.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville and Karen Pierog; Editing by Andrew Hay)

Timothy geithner