Pres. Obama Holds Conference Call With Absent Bankers

CEOs miss White House meeting



President Barack Obama’s plan to talk tough to bankers in a meeting at the White House Monday morning lost some of its punch when the executives at several top financial institutions could not make the sit-down due to bad weather.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack and Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons were all stuck on the tarmac this morning as their airplanes waited out fog delays. The executives were not in the room for Obama’s 11:10 a.m. meeting, but the White House said they would be piped in via conference call.

Obama kicked off his meeting with the rest of the CEOs by telling them: "I appreciate you guys coming in."

With JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and White House Senior Adviser Valerie Jarrett visible on camera, Obama spoke by speakerphone with Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons.

"Dick, I had a good time at the Christmas celebration with your successor at Time Warner," Obama said, referring to Sunday night's "Christmas in Washington" event, where Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes was in attendance.

Ironically, Blankfein, Mack and Parsons’ decision to fly commercial, a move that would shield them from potential criticism that they are out of touch with the economic hardship experienced by average Americans, was the reason they couldn’t make the meeting. Dimon, for instance, flew by private jet and was expected to be there on time.

Obama’s meeting in the Roosevelt Room, during which the president plans make a strong push for more lending from the financial institutions taxpayers bailed out last year, already lost some of its influence when Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit announced he would not attend but was instead sending its chairman, Richard Parsons.

Pandit’s decision followed a Citigroup announcement this morning that it will be repaying the government TARP money that it took during the financial meltdown last year.

"Mr. Pandit recognizes the extreme importance of today's meeting and regrets that he will be unable to attend due to today's announcement of Citi's actions for repaying TARP," said a Citi spokesperson. "Mr. Pandit has discussed the situation with the government, and Citigroup's Chairman Dick Parsons will attend on his behalf."

Obama has ramped up his rhetoric on financial institutions in recent days, telling CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview aired Sunday night: “I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat-cat bankers. ... What’s really frustrating me right now is that you’ve got these same banks who benefited from taxpayer assistance who are fighting tooth and nail ... against financial regulatory control.”

Others who are expected to be attending today's meeting include, according to an adminstration official:

Ken Chenault, president and CEO of American Express; Richard Davis, chairman, president and CEO of US Bancorp; Richard Fairbank, chairman and CEO of Capital One; Bob Kelly, chairman and CEO of Bank of New York Mellon; Ken Lewis, president and CEO of Bank of America; Ron Logue, chairman and CEO of State Street Bank; Jim Rohr, chairman and CEO of PNC; John Stumpf, president and CEO of Wells Fargo; and Gregory Palm, Executive Vice President and Chief Counsel, Goldman Sachs.

Also attending will be Rahm Emanuel, the president's chief of staff, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner; Christina Romer, chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers; and National Economic Council Director Lawrence Summers.




Pandit skipping W.H. meeting


Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit will not attend today's bankers' meeting with President Obama – the financial giant is sending its chairman, Richard Parsons, instead. Citigroup announced this morning that it will be repaying the government TARP money that it took during the financial meltdown last year.

"Mr. Pandit recognizes the extreme importance of today's meeting and regrets that he will be unable to attend due to today's announcement of Citi's actions for repaying TARP," said a Citi spokesperson. "Mr. Pandit has discussed the situation with the government, and Citigroup's Chairman Dick Parsons will attend on his behalf."


Sources: Politico