Comments on: The Tim Geithner Legacy Project

By: Sechel

Sechel — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 10:54:54 +0000

Tim Geithner will be remembered for maintaining the old wall street order and status quo. Not only do we learn(this week in fact) that he leaked a 50 bps rate cut to BAC, but he famously said that the purpose of loan mods was to “foam the runway for the banks” just buying them enough time. He opposed going after the banks for fraud and did nothing to truly reform a broken system.

By: Moopheus

Moopheus — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 12:37:38 +0000

“Geithner’s experience at the NY Fed made him a highly capable financial first-responder.”

Which is a nice way to gloss over the fact that his position at the NY Fed made him complicit in the creation of the conditions leading up to the collapse. (“I’ll help tie the woman to the tracks because later I will look good helping to clean up the mess!”)

I’ll not be sad to see him go–in fact I thought he should have been gone lone ago. Not that I’m holding my breath for anyone much better to replace him.

By: fresnodan

fresnodan — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 10:46:11 +0000

http://www.ny.frb.org/newsevents/speeche s/2007/gei070323.html
Here’s what Timmy had to say back in 2007:
“The latest wave of credit market innovations has elicited SOME concerns about their implications for the stability of the financial system, concerns similar to those associated with earlier periods of rapid change in financial markets. Will the most recent credit market innovations amplify credit cycles, contributing to “excessive” lending in times of relative stability, and then magnify the contraction in credit that follows? Will they introduce greater volatility in financial markets? Will they create greater risk of systemic financial crisis?”
….
“By spreading risk more broadly, providing opportunities to manage and hedge risk, and making it possible to trade and price credit risk, credit market innovation should help make markets both more efficient and more resilient. They should help make markets better able to allocate capital to its highest return and better able to absorb stress. Broad, deep and well-functioning capital markets complemented by strong, well-capitalized banks, able to provide liquidity in times of strain, make for a more efficient financial system: one which contributes to better economic growth outcomes over time.”

The problem isn’t that he got it wrong – the problem is that in his spewing of these financial industry talking points, he NEVER stopped. He never stopped drinking the kool aid. Remember bonuses for AIG???

And yet it continues that people who proved that they don’t know anything about financial risk are made treasury secretary….
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/e conomy/jack-lew-had-major-role-at-citigr oup-when-it-nearly-imploded/2013/01/10/a 913431e-5b6b-11e2-9fa9-5fbdc9530eb9_stor y.html?tid=pm_business_pop

is it a requirement of the job?

By: realist50

realist50 — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 01:17:33 +0000

I’ll take the field vs. Citi, understanding that I’m not likely to get very good odds. I’d be surprised to see Geithner go to a SIFI because of all the negative publicity that would ensue. Yes, Orszag did so only 2 years ago, but Geithner is much higher profile than Orszag. Outside of rarefied circles, the necessary first step in getting people upset about Orszag’s move would have been telling people who Orszag is and what he did in the administration. That said, I’d love to see Geithner go to Goldman Sachs just to see Maxine Waters’ reaction.

Since taking the field isn’t an option in a pool, my pool pick is … Lazard.

By: f.fursty

f.fursty — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 23:15:53 +0000

Can we get some kind of office pool going on this one? I don’t think it’s going to be Blackrock.

I would be willing to put some money on Citibank. He could follow in the footsteps of Orszag and his mentor Rubin.