Timothy Geithner

Timothy Geithner served as President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2003 to 2009, then as Treasury Secretary under President Obama from 2009 to 2013. As NY Fed President during the crisis, he was involved in emergency decisions including the organized sale of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan, the decision not to rescue Lehman Brothers, and the AIG bailout. As Treasury Secretary, he oversaw the stress tests for banks that provided greater clarity about the banking system's health and helped restore confidence. He also championed the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory reform legislation. He wrote "Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises." He subsequently joined Warburg Pincus as president. His "stress test" approach — publishing the results publicly to distinguish well-capitalized from undercapitalized banks — was initially opposed by some who feared it would cause panic, but ultimately proved to be a critical tool in restoring market confidence. He left Warburg Pincus in 2018 and has continued advising on financial policy and crisis management. His memoir remains one of the most detailed accounts of crisis management from inside the US government.