Timothy Geithner (b. 1961)

Who They Were

Timothy Geithner (born 1961) is an American economic official who played a leading role in the U.S. government's response to the 2008 financial crisis. During the crisis he was president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the regional Fed most closely tied to Wall Street, a position that placed him at the center of the emergency interventions of 2008. He was deeply involved in the rescue of the investment bank Bear Stearns and the insurer AIG, working closely with the Treasury and the Federal Reserve Board in Washington. After Barack Obama's election he was named Treasury Secretary, serving through the president's first term as the administration managed the recovery, financial reform, and the stress-testing of major banks. He later moved into private investment and wrote about the crisis.

Key Contributions

Geithner's contribution was primarily as a crisis manager rather than a scholar or theorist. At the New York Fed he helped orchestrate the interventions that kept the financial system functioning through 2008, including the arranged sale of Bear Stearns and the government's support for AIG. As Treasury Secretary he oversaw the later stages of the bank rescue and the widely watched stress tests that assessed whether major banks held enough capital to survive further shocks, a step often credited with helping restore market confidence. He was also involved in implementing the financial-regulation reform enacted in the wake of the crisis. His approach - prioritizing the stability of the financial system, sometimes at the cost of public anger over bailouts - remains debated among economists and policymakers.

On EconRecall

New York Fed president during the 2008 crisis and later Treasury Secretary under Obama; a central manager of the Bear Stearns and AIG rescues. Play the games that feature Timothy Geithner:

• The 2008 Financial Crisis