Commentaries
Now raising intellectual capital
Calling Geithner
Good work by the AP in getting a copy of Treasury Secretary’s Tim Geithner’s phone log, which shows that he was quite busy during the first-half of the year speaking to Wall Street bankers. These stories are fun reads and I recently did one based on FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair’s datebook.
To me, the most interesting thing to come out of the Geithner call list is the revelation that he spoke several times with both Citigroup Chairman Dick Parsons and Citi CEO Vikram Pandit. Now, given the dicey situation Citi is in, that’s not surprising. But compare this to Bair’s dealings with Citi–in which she all but kept Pandit at arms length this summer.
Bair’s datebook reveals that she dealt exclusively this summer with Parsons or other Citi board members. There’s no indication that Bair had any private talks with Pandit. Â
This notably different treatment of Pandit is further proof of the icy relationship that exists between Bair and Pandit. And this is why it may be too early for Pandit to believe his job is secure–even if an outside consultant hired by Citi reportedly gave him high-marks as a manager.
Sheila Bair and the black marker
The other day I wrote a column about a series of meetings FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair had this summer with Citi Chairman Dick Parsons. The column was based on entries in Bair’s datebook, a copy of which the FDIC turned over to me in response to a FOIA request.
But here’s the thing, the FDIC actually tried to keep some of those meetings between Bair and Parsons secret–along with a number of other meetings the FDIC chairwoman had this summer. The FDIC said it needed to redact some of the entries to protect the agency’s work with the banks it regulates. The agency did this by using a simple black marker to cover over the names of some people.
-
The Wall
