WASHINGTON–Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner told a congressional committee today he will ask the full Congress on Thursday for authority to create a federal receiver for what he called "systemically important" nonbank financial firms like American International Group.

But in his testimony he sidestepped the issue of whether the primary regulator of troubled, large insurance companies would be a federal or state regulator.

In his statement, he said, "Before taking any emergency action, the Treasury Secretary would need to determine that resolution authority is necessary upon the positive recommendations of the Federal Reserve Board and the appropriate federal regulatory agency."