It will take more time to tackle eco difficulties: Paulson

WASHINGTON: Warning that more challenges will continue to arise in the coming days, US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Tuesday said it will take more time to overcome the economic difficulties.

The Treasury Secretary's remarks came after the Federal government unveiled a mammoth 800-billion dollar plan, primarily aimed at encouraging lending to consumers.

"It will take time to work through the difficulties in our markets and our economy, and new challenges will continue to arise," Paulson said in a statement.

The announcement of yet another mega billion-dollar plan comes just a day after President-elect Barack Obama announced his economic team, including the choice of Timothy F Geithner as the new Treasury Secretary.

According to Paulson, the Treasury would provide 20 billion dollars of credit protection to the Federal Reserve in connection with its 200-billion dollar Term Asset Backed Securities Loan Facility.

Noting that the focus throughout the financial turmoil has been to stabilise the system and support lending, Paulson said, "by providing liquidity to issuers of consumer asset backed paper, the Federal Reserve facility will enable a broad range of institutions to step up their lending, enabling borrowers to have access to lower cost consumer finance and small business loans."