"We judged that a sudden, disorderly failure of Bear would have brought with it unpredictable but severe consequences for the functioning of the broader financial system and the broader economy, with lower equity prices, further downward pressure on home values, and less access to credit for companies and households"
- Timothy Geithner
About this Quote
This quote by Timothy Geithner is referring to the financial crisis of 2008 and the choice to bail out Bear Stearns. Geithner is alerting of the prospective consequences of an unexpected and disorderly failure of Bear Stearns. He is suggesting that such a failure would have had serious consequences for the more comprehensive monetary system and the economy as a whole. This could have consisted of a reduction in equity rates, even more downward pressure on home values, and less access to credit for business and families. Geithner is highlighting the importance of the choice to bail out Bear Stearns in order to prevent these possible repercussions from taking place. He is suggesting that the bailout was essential in order to secure the wider financial system and the economy from further damage.
"A person who doubts himself is like a man who would enlist in the ranks of his enemies and bear arms against himself. He makes his failure certain by himself being the first person to be convinced of it"
