WASHINGTON (AP) – Citing emerging financial sector stability, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Thursday that a number of government rescue efforts in place since the Wall Street crisis are no longer needed and that banks will repay $50 billion in rescue funds over the next 18 months.

Geithner, testifying before a congressional watchdog panel, said the nation still has a ways to go before "true recovery takes hold.'' But he said improved conditions in the banking industry have prompted Treasury to begin winding down emergency support programs implemented after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last year.

"The financial system is showing very important signs of repair,'' Geithner said. He added later: "I would not want anyone to be left with the impression that we're not still facing really substantial enormous challenges throughout the US financial system.''

President Barack Obama will speak to that issue Monday in New York when he makes what the White House described as a major address on steps the administration has taken to mitigate the Wall Street crisis and its commitment to winding down the government's role in the financial sector. Monday is the first year anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse.

The cautious but upbeat tone reflects a growing push by the administration to present the government financial rescue efforts as a success amid lingering public apprehension about the economy.

Geithner was testifying before the Congressional Oversight Panel that monitors Treasury's $700-billion financial bailout that President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama used to shore up not only banks but the auto industry as well.

Banks have already paid back $70 billion of the $250 billion that the government injected over the past year to boost their liquidity. Geithner noted that only $11 billion of that infusion has occurred since he became Treasury secretary earlier this year. He said dividends on those infusions and the repurchase by banks of warrants held by the government has also generated $12 billion for the government. Overall, he said, the government realized a 17 percent return from 23 banks that have paid back the government in full.