Who Should/Will Be Next Treasury Secretary?

With the fiscal cliff staring us straight in the face and a host of other fiscal issues continuing  to haunt our domestic and global economies, the pressure on our next Secretary of Treasury will be significant. Who is up to the task? Whom would you like to see fill this enormous role?

American Banker presents this question today and puts forth the following candidates: 

1. Jacob Lew, White House Chief of Staff
2. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock
3. Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
4. Sheila Bair, former FDIC chair
5. Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City
6. Mitt Romney
7. Erskine Bowles, chair of the Bowles-Simpson Commission
8. Eliot Spitzer, former Governor and Attorney General of New York

I am surprised that JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon's name is not on this list. Recall also that former New Hampshire Senator Judd Gregg withdrew his name as Secretary of Commerce in the first Obama administration. Would he be a dark horse?

Whom do you think Obama should pick? Whom do you think he will pick? Whom else would you propose as a qualified candidate for this exceptionally important position?

I hear Lew's name referenced often as a strong candidate but is he anywhere close to being qualified? Bowles would likely gather support given his work on the bipartisan commission to address our deficit. Fink would command the respect of the markets and our trading partners. The others mentioned strike me as either unqualified or unlikely to gain the favor of the administration.

My instincts tell me Larry Fink will be the guy.

What do you think?

Larry Doyle

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I have no affiliation or business interest with any entity referenced in this commentary. The opinions expressed are my own. I am a proponent of real transparency within our markets so that investor confidence and investor protection can be achieved.