Geithner: Business should back development banks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It is in U.S. business' own interest to support the role of multilateral development banks as they try to bolster global growth, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said on Tuesday.

In prepared remarks for a closed-door event at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business lobby group, Geithner noted the global economy still is under pressure including from Europe's debt crisis.

development banks can help by boosting growth in emerging markets, he suggested.

Treasury made a copy of Geithner's remarks available after the event.

"If the emerging markets and developing nations grow, we can export more. We can hire more workers," Geithner said, alluding to the development banks' primary purpose.

Multilateral development banks, or MDBs, typically refers to the World Bank Group and four regional banks: the African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the Inter-American Development Bank Group.

Geithner said U.S. investment in the banks, and their subsequent support in emerging markets, was an important element in restarting growth for U.S. exports after the 2007-09 financial crisis.