WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Harvard University law
professor Elizabeth Warren would be a very effective leader of
the new U.S. consumer financial agency but no decision has been
made yet about the post, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner said on Tuesday.

"She, I think, would be a very effective, very capable
leader of that new entity because she, more than almost anybody
else in the country, was early and strong in pointing out the
need for better consumer protection," Geithner told the ABC
News program "Good Morning America."

But he added, "The president hasn't decided yet who's going
to lead this."

Liberal groups have strongly supported Warren's candidacy
for the job based on her high-profile advocacy of better
protections for consumers on credit cards, mortgages and other
financial products.

But some on Wall Street view Warren as public enemy No. 1.

Warren is one of the main contenders to head the consumer
agency, which was created by the sweeping law passed last month
overhauling U.S. financial regulations.

A group of professors have circulated a petition pushing
Warren's candidacy.

"Professor Warren's integrity and genuine concern for the
plight of ordinary American families are sorely needed in
Washington," a group of 141 professors wrote in a letter to
President Barack Obama.

"We believe that Elizabeth Warren is the ideal choice to
head the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection," said the
letter, which included the signatures of professors at
universities including Harvard, Georgetown, Seton Hall,
University of Texas and other universities.

Among other contenders for the consumer job are Michael
Barr, a U.S. Treasury official, and Eugene Kimmelman, who works
at the Department of Justice.

(Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Philip Barbara)