Who is signing your money?
With confirmation of Rosa Rios as U.S. Treasurer, Secretary Geithner and Rios will appear on new bills later this year.
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| Rosa Rios was confirmed as U.S. Treasurer on Friday. |
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been waiting to sign your money for seven months, and he'll have to wait just a bit longer.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing has been holding off on putting Geithner's "John Hancock" on currency while the Senate mulled whether to confirm the other co-signer of your money -- the U.S. Treasurer.
That confirmation, of Rosa Gumataotao Rios, occurred on Friday.
Meanwhile, the signatures of former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and former Treasurer Anna Escobedo Cabral have still been appearing on new bills, long after their terms ended on Jan. 20. Based on how much money the Treasury printed in the same period last year, the names of the two out-of-office signers graced 7.2 billion new notes with a total face value of nearly $120 billion.
But don't look for Geithner- and Rios-signed bills at an ATM near you just yet. The process of transferring the new signatures typically takes three months, a bureau spokeswoman said. The bureau must first receive the new signatures. Then they create a new series of bills, with new serial numbers and suffix letters, and they design a new plate -- all before they begin printing new bills.
Though the signatures of the Treasury secretary and Treasurer may seem like a small detail, they are required to make the bills legal tender, according to the bureau.
In addition to signing U.S. currency, the Treasurer of the United States advises the director of the Mint, the director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and the Treasury secretary "on matters relating to coinage, currency and the production of other instruments by the United States," according to the Treasury Web site.
"It is a great pleasure to have Rosa Rios as Treasurer of the United States," Geithner said in a statement released Tuesday. "She brings to this position extensive experience and knowledge, gained through her work in the public and private sectors, that will serve our nation well."
Prior to her confirmation as Treasurer, Rios served on the Treasury and Federal Reserve's transition team, serving as the lead staff member for external stakeholder outreach on behalf of Treasury.
Rios previously served as managing director of investments at real estate investment firm MacFarlane Partners, principal for real estate consulting firm Red River Associates and director of the redevelopment and economic development for the city of Oakland, Calif. 
