Summary of Nick Timiraos's Trillion Dollar Triage

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 Jay Powell, who would later become the chairman of the Federal Reserve, was born in Washington D. C. in 1945. His family were among the first Catholics to join the prestigious Chevy Chase Club, where his father was president. He learned from his father how to measure his words carefully.

#2 Brady, who had been Reagan's secretary of the Treasury, hired Powell to be his assistant secretary. Powell then called up his old Wall Street law firm, Davis Polk Wardwell, and asked for a hardworking assistant. They recommended a thirty-three-year-old Ivy League lawyer named Randal Quarles.

#3 In early 1991, Powell was tasked with dealing with the Bank of New England, a regional bank on the brink of failure as a result of the recent collapse of the commercial and residential real-estate markets. The immediate stakes were not catastrophic, but the basic questions were the same as when a Citigroup or Lehman Brothers was courting insolvency: should the government let market forces wash away poorly managed institutions.

#4 In 1991, Powell was tasked with deciding the fate of Wall Street giant Salomon Brothers. The company had been cornering the market for two-year Treasury notes, which they could then force dealers to buy back from them at higher prices.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 14, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669392040

IRB Media

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Insights on Nick Timiraos's Trillion Dollar Triage

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 16

Insights from Chapter 17

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

Jay Powell, who would later become the chairman of the Federal Reserve, was born in Washington D. C. in 1945. His family were among the first Catholics to join the prestigious Chevy Chase Club, where his father was president. He learned from his father how to measure his words carefully.

#2

Brady, who had been Reagan's secretary of the Treasury, hired Powell to be his assistant secretary. Powell then called up his old Wall Street law firm, Davis Polk Wardwell, and asked for a hardworking assistant. They recommended a thirty-three-year-old Ivy League lawyer named Randal Quarles.

#3

In early 1991, Powell was tasked with dealing with the Bank of New England, a regional bank on the brink of failure as a result of the recent collapse of the commercial and residential real-estate markets. The immediate stakes were not catastrophic, but the basic questions were the same as when a Citigroup or Lehman Brothers was courting insolvency: should the government let market forces wash away poorly managed institutions.

#4

In 1991, Powell was tasked with deciding the fate of Wall Street giant Salomon Brothers. The company had been cornering the market for two-year Treasury notes, which they could then force dealers to buy back from them at higher prices.

#5

On September 4, 1991, Salomon Brothers was brought before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. The hearing was to determine whether or not to revoke the firm’s status as a primary dealer.

#6

When the scandal broke, Powell was put in charge of handling it. He was able to defuse the situation by reassuring the lawmakers that the Treasury Department would take the matter seriously.

#7

After Bush left office in 1993, Powell returned to the private sector. He made a ton of money, but didn’t always jibe with the culture on Wall Street. He wanted to return to government work, but there was no obvious place for him. So he joined a think tank.

#8

When it came to the government’s finances, Powell was a pragmatist, while the White House was trying to convince Republicans of the same thing. This partisan logjam opened up Powell’s path back into government.

#9

In 2011, Powell gave a presentation to the Republican leadership in the House explaining what