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Ex-Citi CEO Apologizes For Financial Crisis
By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2010
Modified Apr 8, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published Apr 8, 2010
Modified Apr 8, 2010
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According to Bloomberg News, former Citigroup CEO Charles "Chuck" Prince's prepared testimony in front of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission reveals that "he wasn’t aware of the mortgage-related securities that caused the bank’s biggest losses until the financial crisis struck." But that didn't matter, since “Everyone, including our risk managers, other banks and CDO structurers, all believed that these [mortgage-related] securities held virtually no risk. It is hard for me to fault the traders who made the decisions to retain these positions on Citi’s books." Now, Prince admits, their belief in the collateralized debt obligations "looks pretty unwise."
But the NY Times reports that Prince strayed from his prepared remarks today by apologizing, "Let me start by saying I’m sorry. I’m sorry the financial crisis has had such a devastating impact for our country. I’m sorry about the millions of people, average Americans, who lost their homes. And I’m sorry that our management team, starting with me, like so many others could not see the unprecedented market collapse that lay before us."
The Times adds that former Treasury and Citigroup board member Secretary Robert E. Rubin "also showed some contrition but stopped short of accepting personal responsibility for the bank’s woes" and also "cited at least nine different causes for the financial crisis, which formed a toxic cocktail that, he claims, 'almost all of us' missed."
Tagged
Chuck Prince
economy
financial crisis
recession
Robert Rubin
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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