Former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson got down on bended knee in front of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to break the tension and to get a smile or laughter during the darkest days of the financial crisis but said it didnt really have its desired effect.
Paulson, in a wide-ranging interview conducted by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, recounted a key meeting last fall between balky Republican and Democratic lawmakers — including Pelosi and then-presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama. People didnt come to physical blows but there were verbal blows, Paulson said of the meeting, which was held to gain approval of TARP.
In a session before the Omaha Chamber of Commerce, Paulson said Wall Street pay is out of whack, the economy is recovering and hes keeping his money in fixed-income and money market accounts.
One of the things I learned during my career is Im not a great investor, said Paulson, the former head of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. A lot of what I have is in fixed-income markets, money markets, cash growth equities.
Paulson details his handling of the financial crisis in his new book On the Brink, including how Obama stopped talking to him the day after the 2008 election. He made reference to that again after Buffett recounted how Obama sort of stopped talking to you after the election.
Take out the sort of, Paulson quipped.
As for what would have happened if Bank of America hadnt bought Merrill Lynch, he says Merrill wouldnt have lasted a week.