WASHINGTON - April 22, 2010 – U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed Thursday to put failing banks that take too much risk "out of existence" in order to avoid bailing out firms deemed "too big to fail" at taxpayers' expense.

"Our view is that we need to make sure that you're limiting how big they can get and how risky they can get," Geithner told ABC News as Congress pursues negotiations on a sweeping financial reform bill.

"But if, in the future, if they mess up and take themselves to the edge of the cliff, then we want to make sure we can put them out of existence, dismember them, break them up safely without the Amerikan taxpayer having to bail them out again."