Greenspan, Snow hearing on financial crisis

(23 Oct 2008)
1. Wide of Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Chris Cox and Former Treasury Secretary John Snow testifying at the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
2. SOUNDBITE: (English) Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman:
(SOUNDBITE STARTS OFFCAMERA)
"We are in the midst of a once-in-a-century credit tsunami. Central Banks and governments are being required to take unprecedented measures. Given the financial damage to date, I cannot see how we can avoid a significant rise in layoffs and unemployment."
3. Cutaway of Greenspan, Cox and Snow
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman:
"To avoid severe retrenchment banks and other financial intermediaries will need the support that only the substitution of sovereign credit for private credit can bestow. The 700 (b) billion troubled assets relief programme is adequate to serve that need."
5. Wide of hearing
6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Henry Waxman, Committee Chairman, Democrat California:
"Over and over again ideology trumped governance. Our regulars became enablers rather than enforcers. Their trust in the wisdom of the markets was infinite. The mantra became government regulation is wrong, the market is infallible."
7. Cutaway of hearing
8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman:
"Those of us who have looked at the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholders' equity, myself especially, are in a state of shocked disbelief. Such counter-party surveillance is a central pillar of our financial market state of balance, if it fails as had occurred this year, market stability is undermined."
9. UPSOUND: (English) Exchange between Henry Waxman, Committee Chairman, Democrat California and Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman:
(HW)"You found a flaw in...the reality..."
(AG) "A flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works, so to speak."
(HW) "In other words, you found that your view of the world, your ideology was not right, it was not working."
(AG) "Precisely, that is precisely the reason I was shocked because I was going for 40 years or more with very considerable evidence that it was working exceptionally well."
10. Cutaway of hearing
11. UPSOUND: (English) Exchange between Henry Waxman, Committee Chairman, Democrat California and Alan Greenspan, Former Federal Reserve Chairman:
(HW) "Where do you think you made a mistake?"
(AG) "I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organisations, specifically banks and others were such as that they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders and their equity in their firms."
12. Wide of Sheila Bair, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Neel Kashkari, Interim Assistant Secretary for the US Treasury testifying at Senate Banking committee hearing
13. Mid of Bair and Kashkari
14. SOUNDBITE: (English) Sheila Bair, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ++INCLUDES CUTAWAY++:
"The FDIC is working closely and creatively with Treasury on ways to use the recent financial rescue law to create a clear framework and economic incentives to systematically modifying loans. The aim is for loan servicers to offer homeowners more affordable and sustainable mortgages."
15. Cutaway of hearing
16. SOUNDBITE:(English), Neel Kashkari, Interim Assistant Secretary for the US Treasury
(NK) "Absolutely chairman we share your sense of urgency."
18. Cutaway of hearing
STORYLINE:
Find out more about AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter: / ap_archive
Facebook: / aparchives ​​
Instagram: / apnews
You can license this story through AP Archive: www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...

[@FrankLockwood]

Wow: He admitted that his model was the problem: That credit needs to be a function of government, not the self interests of private companies. Wow, it got so quiet when he dropped that bombshell!

[@pablopina8924]

I respect he admit the mistake and how the world works in finance after 40 years wow, tho eventually finance mutates to a new breed.

[@jjmarr7130]

Alan Greenspan was famous for being vague and unclear on purpose during Congressional testimony, so being so clear on something was likely shocking

[@Hernancillo37]

Greenspan was in a "state of shock", speechless in the face of the collapse of his financial fundamentalism. He did not understand why banks did not practice the axiom of maximizing expected profits since they extended loans to people unable to pay them. But who lowered interest rates favoring real estate speculation? Who deregulated the derivatives system? Of course, himself. That crisis was not like the typical crises of yesteryear, it was a crisis manufactured by economists such as Greenspan, Ayn Ran-inspired economists and rational selfishness. The ideology that defends the freedom of 1% of the population, which owns 2/3 of the wealth produced in the USA.

[@Rickwmc]

Kabuki Theater for us peasants.

[@subzoronltd7779]

Interesting that he endorsed Obama’s stimulus package in this

[@minkhs]

Did he take responsible for all the hardships he caused?

[@tylermccuen970]

can you please post the full testimony?

[@10tepeyac]

He sounded so detached on reality.

[@carlmar713]

even in this 'recognition" on how wrong He was, His concern was the stakeholders "NEVER MIND THE PUBLIC AND /OR THE CONSEQUENCES IN THE AMERICA SOCIETY AS ALL" AND H he is not able to explicitly recognised the need of control and REGULATION THAT HORRIFIC WORDS for crucks and dishonesty as it has been proved to really be

[@marcoscastro8361]

Wao 2009 biguest economic package, 2016 biguest economic rescue package in hustory,2020 2021 biguest american restoration package.

[@Rickwmc]

Eustace Mullins

[@hanswurst5222]

"you found a flaw in the reality?"

[@lope542]

He just can't believe that he was wrong. These kind of people think they re god's - incapable of any wrongdoing

[@pablopina8924]

You don't see Chairmans like these today.

[@driggs7906]

Still better than porn

[@carlmar713]

miserable being... no merci, no honesty, only greed