Henry M. Paulson - On the Brink

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

For Wendy

(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 (DNew 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 (RSouth Carolina), national campaign co-chairman for Sen. John McCain

SEN. JUDD GREGG (RNew 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 (DNew 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 Peoples 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 Peoples Republic of China

WU YI, vice premier of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China

ZHOU XIAOCHUAN, governor of the central bank of the Peoples 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

WHITE HOUSE

JOSHUA BOLTEN, chief of staff

GEORGE W. BUSH, 43rd president of the United States

RICHARD CHENEY, 46th vice president of the United States

EDWARD GILLESPIE, counselor to the president

STEPHEN HADLEY, national security adviser

KEITH HENNESSEY, assistant to the president for economic policy; later director of the National Economic Council

JOEL KAPLAN, deputy chief of staff for policy

EDWARD LAZEAR, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers

DANIEL MEYER, assistant to the president for legislative affairs

T he pace of events during the financial crisis of 2008 was truly breathtaking. In this book, I have done my best to describe my actions and the thinking behind them during that time, and to convey the breakneck speed at which events were happening all around us.