Timothy Geithner harbored “deep distrust and scorn for the prevailing populist impulse” against banks during the financial crisis, his newly published notes say.
In relatively candid personal memos published by ProPublica Thursday, President Obama’s first Treasury secretary admits bewilderment at the criticism and opposition he received from both the Left and the Right while trying to manage the fallout from the collapse of Wall Street.
He also acknowledges that some of the administration’s efforts to stem the crisis fell short of what was called for.
The notes, which were part of Geithner’s preparation for his book on the crisis published this year, were part of an ongoing trial involving the bailout of the insurer American International Group and were obtained by ProPublica.
In the documents, Geithner explains that he had little time for populism directed at the banks at the center of the crisis given that he believed they had to be saved to prevent a broader recession. He wrote that he didn’t expect “broader public acclaim for the s— we had to do.”
Nevertheless, he “didn’t realize how powerful were the movement or professional progressives,” who were “stubbornly skeptical of everything we did or said.”
The same was true for Democrats. His notes recount a meeting with Senate Democrats in which they treated him with “great skepticism and some hostility,” and being counseled by then-Obama adviser Pete Rouse, “Don’t worry, those jackasses will forget what they said in five minutes.”
But despite the pushback from the left, Geithner didn’t receive countervailing support from Republicans or Wall Street. “This put us in no man’s land, as we found ourselves on so many policy issues, with reforms that enraged the Right, but did not really satisfy the Left,” Geithner said of the bailouts and reform efforts.
His notes indicate that he thought some of the administration’s efforts to sue banks for mortgage fraud, pursue relief for homeowners, or better regulate banks were inadequate. He also mentions that the 2009 stimulus was too small to counteract the recession.
In the documents, Geithner also bemoaned the persistent misconception that he had worked on Wall Street before joining the government. “The conventional myth that I had come from Goldman Sachs was very damaging, and colored so much of the coverage, hurting all lot [sic] during financial reform debates too.”
After leaving the administration in 2013, Geithner now works for the private equity firm Warburg Pincus.
