Obama’s “Dream Team” Takes Shape

They’ve been called “the dream team” — dubbed by supporters as brilliant, outstanding and exceptionally talented, President-elect Barack Obama unveiled nominations for his administration’s economic team Monday. Among them is current New York Federal Reserve President Timothy Geithner, who Obama has tabbed as the next secretary of the U.S. Treasury, a position that will undoubtedly shape the tenor of the mortgage financial market for the next four years. “I’ve sought leaders who could offer both sound judgment and fresh thinking, both a depth of experience and a wealth of bold new ideas — and most of all, who share my fundamental belief that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers; that in this country, we rise and fall as one nation, as one people,” Obama said at a press conference Monday in Chicago. Pending the Senate’s approval, Geithner will take on one of the most crucial cabinet positions, as the country struggles to cope with a lingering financial crisis and what most economists now believe will be a protracted recession. Geithner, well-known on Wall Street as “the government’s fixer” according to a recent story in The Wall Street Journal, has been a primary architect of various rescue plans for ailing financial institutions — a role he his likely to continue at the Treasury. Because there will be plenty of fixing needed. Geithner became the ninth president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in 2003. In that capacity, he served as the vice chairman and a permanent member of the Federal Open Market Committee, the group responsible for formulating the nation’s monetary policy. Geithner joined the Department of Treasury in 1988 and worked in three administrations for five Secretaries of the Treasury in a variety of positions. Obama described Geithner as having “served with distinction under both Democrats and Republicans” and said he had a “long history of working comfortably and as an honest broker on both sides of the aisle.” Obama praised Geithner’s international experience as a key tool to success in his new role. Geithner grew up partly in Africa and lived and worked throughout Asia. He served as under secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, and has studied both Chinese and Japanese. “The reality is that the economic crisis we face is no longer just an American crisis, it is a global crisis — and we will need to reach out to countries around the world to craft a global response,” Obama said. “Tim’s extensive international experience makes him uniquely suited for this work.” Current Treasury secretary Henry Paulson said in a statement issued Monday afternoon, “I have the highest regard for Tim … [and] I have great confidence in his understanding of markets, his judgment and leadership, and his ability to meet the challenges that lie ahead.” Knocks on Geithner’s ability to meet the challenges ahead seem to be few and far between. What public criticism he does face stems from what some believe was a mishandling of failed Lehman Brothers. “[H]e was instrumental in the decision to bankrupt Lehman Brothers, a decision that is seen by many as the domino that set off the chain of events,” which culminated the massive bank rescue, said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial, as reported by Reuters. Investors, however, seemed confident in Geithner’s abilities, as stocks soared late Monday afternoon — the Dow Jones closed up 494.13 points, in particular, as Wall Street cheered the nomination. Mortgage market participants seemed hopefully optimisitic, if more muted in their assessments; some of HousingWire‘s key sources said Geithner has at least been knee-deep in the financial crisis and won’t be learning about it when he steps into his new role. In addition to Giethner, Obama nominated former Harvard president Lawrence Summers as director of the National Economic Council, economist Christina Romer as chair of the Council of Economic Advisors, and former executive vice president for policy at the Center for American Progress Melody Barnes as director of the Domestic Policy Council. A top priority for Obama’s economic team will be hashing out the details of a two-year economic recovery plan, a plan the president-elect says is intended to create 2.5 million jobs. Those jobs will be needed; the nation’s jobless rate climbed to 6.5 percent in October, the highest level since 1994, as retail sales and consumer prices plunged to record lows. Fed policy makers now anticipate the economy will contract through the middle of 2009, meeting minutes show, with private analysts already predicting the worst recession in at least a quarter century. And In other words: this is one economic team that has its work cut out for it. For the mortgage markets, that work will involve charting a course for government involvement in mortgages: under the provisions of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Treasury’s temporary and unlimited authority to purchase GSE debt and equity will end at the end of next year. Write to Kelly Curran at [email protected]