On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System

461 Pages·2011·3.06 MB·English

by  Henry M. Paulson

Copyright
Copyright © 2010 by Henry M. Paulson, Jr.
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S.
Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be
reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by
any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system,
without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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First eBook Edition: February 2010
ISBN: 978-0-446-56567-7
Contents
Copyright
Main Cast of Characters
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Illustrations
Afterword
Acronyms Used in the Text
Acknowledgments
About the Author
For Wendy
MAIN CAST OF CHARACTERS
(in Alphabetical Order)
CONGRESS
REP. SPENCER BACHUS (R-Alabama), ranking Republican on
the House Committee on Financial Services
SEN. MAX BAUCUS (D-Montana), chairman of the Senate
Committee on Finance
REP. ROY BLUNT (R-Missouri), House minority whip
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-Ohio), House minority leader
SEN. JIM BUNNING (R-Kentucky), member of the Senate
Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON (D–New York)
SEN. CHRISTOPHER DODD (D-Connecticut), chairman of the
Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
Affairs
REP. RAHM EMANUEL (D-Illinois), chairman of the House
Democratic Caucus; later chosen as chief of staff by
President-elect Barack Obama
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D-Massachusetts), chairman of the
House Committee on Financial Services
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R–South Carolina), national campaign
co-chairman for Sen. John McCain
SEN. JUDD GREGG (R–New Hampshire), ranking Republican
on the Senate Committee on the Budget
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-Kentucky), Senate minority leader
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-California), Speaker of the House
SEN. HARRY REID (D-Nevada), Senate majority leader
SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D–New York), vice chairman of the
Senate Democratic Conference
SEN. RICHARD SHELBY (R-Alabama), ranking Republican on
the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs
FINANCIAL LEADERS AND THEIR
ADVISERS
JOSEF ACKERMANN, chairman of the management board and
CEO of Deutsche Bank
HERBERT ALLISON, JR., chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF;
later president and CEO of Fannie Mae
LLOYD BLANKFEIN, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs
WARREN BUFFETT, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
H. RODGIN COHEN, chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell
MERVYN DAVIES, chairman of Standard Chartered Bank
JAMES DIMON, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase
J. CHRISTOPHER FLOWERS, CEO of J.C. Flowers & Company
RICHARD FULD, chairman and CEO of Lehman Brothers
EDWARD HERLIHY, co-chairman of the executive committee of
Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz
JEFFREY IMMELT, chairman and CEO of General Electric
ROBERT KELLY, chairman and CEO of Bank of New York
Mellon
RICHARD KOVACEVICH, chairman of Wells Fargo
KENNETH LEWIS, chairman and CEO of Bank of America
EDWARD LIDDY, chairman and CEO of AIG
JOHN MACK, chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley
HERBERT (BART) MCDADE III, president of Lehman Brothers
DANIEL MUDD, president and CEO of Fannie Mae
VIKRAM PANDIT, CEO of Citigroup
ROBERT RUBIN, former secretary of the Treasury; director and
senior counselor of Citigroup
ALAN SCHWARTZ, CEO of Bear Stearns
ROBERT SCULLY, vice chairman of Morgan Stanley
LAWRENCE SUMMERS, former secretary of the Treasury; chosen
as director of the National Economic Council by
President-elect Barack Obama
RICHARD SYRON, chairman and CEO of Freddie Mac
JOHN THAIN, chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch
ROBERT WILLUMSTAD, CEO of AIG
FINANCIAL REGULATORS
SHEILA BAIR, chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation
BEN BERNANKE, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
CHRISTOPHER COX, chairman of the Securities and Exchange
Commission
JOHN DUGAN, comptroller of the currency
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of
New York; later nominated for secretary of the
Treasury by President-elect Barack Obama
DONALD KOHN, vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board
JAMES LOCKHART, director of the Federal Housing Finance
Agency
CALLUM MCCARTHY, chairman of the Financial Services
Authority (United Kingdom)
KEVIN WARSH, governor of the Federal Reserve Board
INTERNATIONAL LEADERS
ALISTAIR DARLING, chancellor of the Exchequer of the United
Kingdom
HU JINTAO, president of the People’s Republic of China
MERVYN KING, governor of the Bank of England
ALEXEI KUDRIN, finance minister of Russia
CHRISTINE LAGARDE, finance minister of France
ANGELA MERKEL, chancellor of Germany
VLADIMIR PUTIN, prime minister of Russia
NICOLAS SARKOZY, president of France
JEAN-CLAUDE TRICHET, president of the European Central
Bank
WANG QISHAN, vice premier of the State Council of the
People’s Republic of China
WU YI, vice premier of the State Council of the People’s
Republic of China
ZHOU XIAOCHUAN, governor of the central bank of the People’s
Republic of China
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES AND
THEIR RUNNING MATES
SEN. JOSEPH BIDEN, JR. (D-Delaware), vice presidential
candidate for the Democratic Party; later elected 47th
vice president of the United States
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-Arizona), presidential candidate for the
Republican Party
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-Illinois), presidential candidate for the
Democratic Party; later elected 44th president of the
United States
GOV. SARAH PALIN (R-Alaska), vice presidential candidate for
the Republican Party
TREASURY DEPARTMENT
MICHELE DAVIS, assistant secretary for public affairs and
director of policy planning
KEVIN FROMER, assistant secretary for legislative affairs
ROBERT HOYT, general counsel
DAN JESTER, contractor
NEEL KASHKARI, assistant secretary for international
economics and development and interim assistant
secretary for financial stability
JAMES LAMBRIGHT, chief investment officer of TARP
CLAY LOWERY, acting undersecretary for international affairs
JEB MASON, deputy assistant secretary for business affairs
DAVID MCCORMICK, undersecretary for international affairs
DAVID NASON, assistant secretary for financial institutions
JEREMIAH NORTON, deputy assistant secretary for financial
institutions policy
KARTHIK RAMANATHAN, director of the Office of Debt
Management
ANTHONY RYAN, assistant secretary for financial markets
STEVEN SHAFRAN, senior adviser to the secretary of the
Treasury
ROBERT STEEL, undersecretary for domestic finance; later
president and CEO of Wachovia
PHILLIP SWAGEL, assistant secretary for economic policy
JAMES WILKINSON, chief of staff
KENDRICK WILSON, contractor