U.S. banks won't be rescued by taxpayers, U.S. TreasuryDepartment official Mary Miller said, rebutting investor skepticismthat some lenders are too large to be allowed to fail.

“A common use of the too-big-to-fail shorthand is the notionthat the government will bail a company out if it is in danger ofcollapse because its failure would otherwise have too great anegative impact,” Miller, the Treasury's undersecretary fordomestic finance, said in remarks prepared for a speech in New Yorklate yesterday. “With respect to this understanding oftoo-big-to-fail, let me be very clear: It is wrong.”

A debate from Washington to Wall Street over whether theDodd-Frank financial overhaul law ends bailouts was re-energizedafter U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said last month that thesize of the largest banks has made it difficult for the JusticeDepartment to bring criminal charges when there is wrongdoing.