A Freedom of Information request by Associated Press revealed that Mr Geithner had spoken most often to Lloyd Blankfein, having met or spoken to the chief executive of Goldman Sachs more than 15 times between January and July - a revelation likely to fuel conspiracy theorists who believe that the bank has an undue influence on Government policy.

Associated Press speculated that Mr Geithner's closeness to the banks could be considered inappropriate given that his department oversaw the sector's bailout with billions of dollars of taxpayers' funds and plays a role in the banks' regulation.

Mr Gibbs said: "Secretary Geithner is somebody who has helped steer the financial sector back to stability and has worked on a range of issues and will be heavily involved in regulatory reform as we go forward."