Timothy Geithner Quotes

United States, Public Servant
August 18, 1961

Timothy Franz Geithner is a former American central banker who served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama, from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York from 2003 to 2009, following service in the Clinton administration. Since March 2014, he has served as president and managing director of Warburg Pincus, a private equity firm headquartered in New York City.

Some think that by preparing to deal with crises you make them more likely. I think the wiser judgment is the contrary. In this area at least, if you want peace or stability, it's better to prepare for war or instability.

Timothy Geithner
- War
- Peace
- Stability
The plausible outcomes range from the gradual and benign to the more precipitous and damaging.

Timothy Geithner
- Outcomes
- Range
- Damaging

In the financial system we have today, with less risk concentrated in banks, the probability of systemic financial crises may be lower than in traditional bank-centered financial systems.

Timothy Geithner
- System
- Bank
- Crises
The recognition that things that are not sustainable will eventually come to an end does not give us much of a guide to whether the transition will be calm or exciting.

Timothy Geithner
- Things
- End
- Exciting
The choice is between which mistake is easier to correct: underdoing it or overdoing it.

Timothy Geithner
- Mistake
- Correct
Financial crises require governments.

Timothy Geithner
Monetary policy itself cannot sensibly be directed at reducing imbalances.

Timothy Geithner
Never before in modern times has so much of the world been simultaneously hit by a confluence of economic and financial turmoil such as we are now living through.

Timothy Geithner
- World
- Hit
- Turmoil

The substantial uncertainty about the path of asset price movements going forward necessarily reduces the case for altering policy in advance of the move.

Timothy Geithner
- Policy
- Price
- Movements
Most consequential choices involve shades of gray, and some fog is often useful in getting things done.

Timothy Geithner
- Done
- Things
- Choices