Geithner has frequent contact with Wall Street firms

By Deborah Solomon
The Wall Street Journal
Thursday, October 8, 2009

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125502308629073925.html

WASHINGTON -- Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has kept in frequent contact with a small group of Wall Street firms since taking the helm at the Treasury, speaking most often with top officials from Citigroup Inc. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Calendars released by the Treasury Department in response to a Wall Street Journal Freedom of Information Act request show more than 80 contacts between Mr. Geithner and top officials at firms such as Citigroup, Goldman, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., and BlackRock Inc.

In some cases, the officials have reached out to Mr. Geithner. At other times, Mr. Geithner has picked up the phone first. The details of the conversations, which took place between January and July, aren't known. Some of the conversations took place over the phone while others were in-person meetings in the Treasury secretary's office.

The individual with whom Mr. Geithner has spoken most frequently during that period is Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein, who has either called or met with Mr. Geithner more than 15 times.

Collectively, Mr. Geithner has had the most contact with Citigroup, a firm in which the government holds a 34% stake. Mr. Geithner has spoken frequently with Richard Parsons, Citigroup's chairman, and Vikram Pandit, Citigroup's CEO.

Another frequent name on the list is BlackRock CEO Lawrence Fink, who is listed 15 times on Mr. Geithner's calendar. Mr. Fink's firm was among those awarded a lucrative slot as an investment manager for the public-private venture the Treasury is undertaking to buy toxic assets.

While Mr. Geithner has kept close tabs on Citigroup, Bank of America Corp., another company under the close watch of regulators, appears far less frequently on Mr. Geithner's phone log. He's spoken just a few times with Bank of America officials, including outgoing CEO Kenneth Lewis and Chairman Walter Massey.

"It's appropriate for Treasury officials to keep in touch with those who work in the markets every day, particularly when the economy and the markets are so fragile,'' said Treasury spokesman Andrew Williams.

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