The U.S. Treasury Department said Timothy Geithner plans on leaving his post by the end of January, but said it did not plan to make any further announcements about the timing of Geithner's departure until after his successor is named.

President Obama's chief of staff, Jacob "Jack" Lew, is widely expected to be chosen to replace Geithner. Lew has also served as Director of the office of Management and Budget in the Obama administration.

Obama chose Geithner to lead the just-ended negotiations with Congress to avert the December 31 fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax hikes that threatened to push the economy back into recession.

Geithner, who spent his years as Treasury secretary battling the financial crisis and then fighting with Republican lawmakers in 2011 over raising the U.S. debt ceiling, has wanted to leave government service for some time.

-Reuters