Former Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) Chairman Robert Rubin was scolded on Thursday during a hearing of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission after a heated discussion over the significant losses from mortgage-securities at Citigroup (NYSE: C) when he was at the company.
Rubin claimed that he did not know the risks related to the securities were mounting, drawing a sharp retort from the head of the panel tasked with investigating the causes of the financial crisis.
“You can’t have it both ways: You either were pulling the levers or asleep at the switch,” spoke commission chairman Phil Angelides to Rubin.
Rubin said that Citigroup’s trading-desk executives who built up that mountain of risk “acted in good faith and did what they felt was appropriate.” He added that many other Wall Street firms agreed that the triple-AAA rated securities were safe from default.
“There isn’t a way that you’re going to know what’s in those (bank) position books,” he said. “You really are depending on the people who are there to tell you.”
Angelides told Mr. Rubin that as head of the executive committee of Citigroup’s board, “You were not a garden-variety member. … I’m not so sure apologies are as important as assessment of responsibility.”
