Timothy Geithner’s reign as the Treasury Secretary has been rocky to say the least. Now, speculation is starting to emerge in regards to who his potential successors may be. Calls for his dismissal have been growing louder in recent weeks, as the nation struggles to rebound from the financial crisis, and many are questioning Geithner’s ability. Last week, at a Joint Economic Committee meeting, Secretary Geithner was involved in a heated exchange over his handling of the economic crisis. Republican Rep. Kevin Brady of Texas stated during the exchange “the public has lost all confidence in your ability to do your job.”
As with many other public positions, the Treasury Secretary role often receives too much credit, and too much blame. While Secretary Geithner has certainly not created an aura of confidence, he has also not done anything significantly detrimental to the situation. It is unclear what will happen, but he may end up being the scape goat from this crisis, just as Henry Paulson was before him. If Geithner does leave his post, the Secretary role would need to be filled with a credible resource, knowledgeable of financial markets from the inside, but with the necessary Washington political connections to push the agenda forum.
Thankfully, it seems that Washington has it’s eyes set on a capable financial industry insider, Jamie Dimon. Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), is a popular Wall Street executive who has a stellar track record in managing large institutions. Dimon has not publicly commented about potentially filling the role, but it is an intriguing rumor that has surfaced lately. Though, just as Hank Paulson’s Goldman connection created many concerns and accusations during his tenure, Dimon’s history at both JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup would follow him to Washington as well.
Dimon is in an interesting situation – he runs a firm that is deemed ‘too big to fail’, yet he recently authored an op-ed piece in the Washington Post citing his opposition to that very notion. He worked closely with Sandy Weill as an architect of Citigroup, before rising to the helm of his own empire at JPMorgan Chase. Andrew Sorkin’s recent book by the same title also casts Dimon in a favorable light, as a smart, savvy executive who has a good relationship with the regulators. Dimon would almost certainly be an upgrade over Secretary Geithner, but to date, there are no indications that he is tiring of his current position. If Geithner is unseated, it will take significant wooing to draw him in.
