Larry Summers Being Considered For World Bank Chief

President Barack Obama is considering naming Larry Summers, his former top economic advisor, as head of the World Bank, Bloomberg reports, citing "two people familiar with the matter."

Summers, a former U.S. Treasury Secretary, Harvard President and World Bank chief economist, has expressed interest in the job, according to Bloomberg. He has the backing of current Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Obama's current top economic advisor Gene Sperling. Still, the administration is considering other candidates, including Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, to head the World Bank when the term of the current chief, Robert Zoellick, expires later this year, according to Bloomberg.

Summers has held a variety of positions both at elite levels of government and in other institutions, and at every move has seemed to engender controversy. Summers resigned as president of Harvard in 2006 after he battled with some faculty members was derided for comments he made in 2005, saying that women didn't have the genetic gifts to succeed in science and math.

Summers has also faced criticism since leaving the White House for not doing enough to set the country on a path towards economic recovery while he was head of the National Economic Council -- a position he held for nearly two years until the end of 2010. In addition, he engendered controversy for raking in millions from hedge funds and big banks before assuming his post.

He's also faced controversy at the World Bank. As the institution's chief economist, Summers signed off on a memo in 1992, which said, "I think the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest-wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that," according to The New York Times. He later apologized.

Under an unwritten agreement, the head of the World Bank has always been an American, while the IMF has always been headed by a European. Some emerging market leaders have questioned dividing the roles based on nationality in recent years, Bloomberg reports.

Comments

[AlfredE69]

09:02 PM on 02/23/2012

this guy could drive an undertaker into bankruptcy

[joebhed]

08:52 PM on 02/23/2012

Say It Ain't So.
Please, Barack, please say it ain't so.
How 'bout some hope, for real this time?

[whitcombc]

05:22 PM on 01/25/2012

I think he should then appoint the Koch Bros to run Education, Rick Santorum to head Planned Parenthood, Newt to head the push for Gay Marriage, and Ron Paul to head the FED. Then Obama could hire Herman Cain to be treasury Secretary and Boehner to head the DOJ. There - sounds about right. MY GOD BARACK - WHAT ARE YOU THINKING?

[Christine Gallo]

04:32 AM on 01/26/2012

I think Obama is shooting himself in the foot. He reminds me of Gary Hart. Only Obama has Wall Street in the boat instead of a girl, and we have the pictures to prove it! Does the man even want to be re-elected?

[whitcombc]

05:19 PM on 01/25/2012

Kiss the election bye bye!

[Peter Everts]

03:44 PM on 01/21/2012

Guess I won't be voting for Barack again. Summers and Geitner should be in a federal prison.

[Know-some-secrets]

10:13 AM on 01/21/2012

More recent reports are that Hillary wants to be president of the World Bank, but is "peturbed" by news stories about it, and "angrily" denying it. Just more evidence that she is working hard to get it?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/earl-ofari-hutchinson/hillary-clinton-world-ban_b_875376.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/09/hillary-clinton-world-bank-report_n_874586.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/09/clinton-world-bank-president_n_874484.html

[kimcrdr]

05:30 PM on 01/20/2012

OH NO.........just another reason O must go!!!!!

[Retrofuturistic]

02:25 PM on 01/20/2012

Isn't this putting the wolf in charge of the hen house? Such a decision, even considering such a decision, says very bad things about Mr. Obama.

[oheart]

11:28 AM on 01/20/2012

What a joke: and just because a bank thief is familiar with a bank's operation and layout means he should become bank manager??? Good grief.

[Wall Street Ranter]

02:04 AM on 01/20/2012

Larry Summers? Are they serious? If that is the case you might as well consider their latest "Global Economic Prospects" report the last resemblance of to ever come from the organization. I was actually surprised that their most recent report actually had shades of reality in it! With Larry Summers in charge you can be sure not even "shades" of reality would be accepted!

http://www.wallstreetrant.com/2012/01/world-bank-issues-world-rare-reality.html

[Catita]

03:44 PM on 01/19/2012

Larry summers was the puppet master for the deregulation that occured during the clinton administration which caused the financial crisis/money heist. His viscious attack on Ms Brooksley Born disqualifies him for ever holding a public economic institution.

His appointment to the obama administration just shows how inexperience obama has been and continues to be in financial matters. His continued support for Tim G and Larry S disqualifies him for re-election!

[Know-some-secrets]

11:58 AM on 01/21/2012

Amusing.

Perhaps (wink wink) you would have preferred to elect Hillary Clinton, whose ties to and obligations to profiteering corproations go way back to Arkansas and even now continue to grow.

With Hillary as President, we'd probaby have had "too big to fail" Robert Rubin as Vice President, Larry Summers as Sec. of the Treasury, and the Treasury Deparment relocated to "Wall Street" next to the shady Clinton Foundation. Even with shortcomings, President Obama is leading, and spared us more of the Clinton greed and soap opera in the White House.

[nohopeingovernment]

10:19 AM on 01/26/2012

Inexperience? Are you kidding me. Obama knows exactly what he's doing. It's the rest of us sheeple who vote for any of these idiots........Oh boy we're in trouble!!!

[racebaiter]

02:35 PM on 01/19/2012

Based soley on his "women didn't have the genetic gifts to succeed in science and math" comment I would support the president's decision if he decided to make Mr Summers the head of the World Bank and even in spite of the any contrived "hedge fund controversy"

[StopMakingSense2]

01:38 PM on 01/19/2012

This would be a bad idea!

[Smarty5]

01:28 PM on 01/19/2012

If the prez does this, he will lose all respect of ppl who understand the role summers played to de-regulate the financial industry. Just the thought of it makes me mad.

[up2uamerica]

12:28 PM on 01/19/2012

This is a terrifying thought