By Alan Portner
Former Clinton Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and former Citigroup CEO Charles Prince testified Thursday before a federal panel on Capitol Hill. The panel is charged with rooting out the causes of the 2008 financial collapse that resulted in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930’s.
Prince, for his part, accepted a large portion of the blame and emerged from the session with his dignity, if not his business acumen intact.
“I’m sorry the financial crisis has had such a devastating impact for our country,” Mr. Prince said. “I’m sorry about the millions of people, average Americans, who lost their homes. And I’m sorry that our management teams, starting with me, like so many others could not see the unprecedented market collapse that lay before us.”
Rubin, on the other hand, dodged personal responsibility. He asserted that nearly all financial services executives failed to see excessive debt levels and a negative balance of payments would create the perfect economic storm.
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