Jan 11 (Reuters) - Timothy Geithner, who played a lead role combating the global financial crisis as U.S. Treasury secretary, will step down from his post on January 25.
President Barack Obama on Thursday nominated White House chief of staff Jack Lew to succeed him.
If Lew is not confirmed by the Senate by the time Geithner departs, Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin will serve as acting secretary, a Treasury official said.
Geithner, the longest-serving member of Obama's economic team, is credited with helping to calm the financial storm that swept through Wall Street, but has been criticized for doing too little to help Main Street.
Here is a look at the highs and lows of his time at Treasury.
Nov. 24, 2008: President-elect Obama nominates Geithner, then president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, for Treasury.
January 2009: Nomination hits speed bump when top Republican on Senate Finance Committee reveals irregularities in Geithner's tax returns. Obama administration says Geithner made common mistake with regard to self-employment taxes and Geithner corrects the problem by paying $25,970 in back taxes.
Jan. 26, 2009: Senate votes 60-34 to approve nomination.
Feb. 10, 2009: Stock markets plunge after Geithner sketches out administration's plan to get rid of banks' toxic assets.
Feb. 17, 2009: Obama administration unveils $275 billion plan constructed by the Treasury to tackle the housing crisis, pledging to help up to 9 million borrowers refinance mortgages -- a program that would fall far short of its initial goals.
Feb. 25, 2009: U.S. regulators launch "stress test" program to assess the largest banks' ability to cope with a deeper recession. The program helps restore faith in the financial sector.
Mid-March 2009: Lawmakers start calling for Geithner's resignation after it is revealed that bailed-out insurer AIG paid $165 million in retention bonuses to employees of unit that destroyed the company with bad derivatives bets.
March 21, 2009: Obama says would not accept Geithner's resignation even if he tried to resign.
March 23, 2009: Geithner rolls out toxic asset plan for second time with more details. Stock markets rally.
Early June 2009: GM files for bankruptcy. The Treasury buys bulk of automaker's assets and takes a 60 percent stake in the company.
Mid-June 2009: Obama announces reforms for the financial system that sets the Dodd-Frank regulation bill in motion. Geithner, a key architect, starts selling the plan to Congress.
June 2009: The recession that began in December 2007 ends.
July 21, 2010: Dodd-Frank becomes law.
Nov. 17, 2010: GM raises $20.1 billion in initial public offering. Treasury sells $13 billion of GM stock, leaving it with about 500 million shares.
Feb. 14, 2011: Geithner unveils three options for future of housing finance market that range in levels of government support. Obama administration does not choose a specific path but says it wants to eventually wind-down Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government controlled financial firms that help finance bulk of new home loans. A revamp of the housing finance system remains unfinished business.
March 8, 2011: Geithner meets then-European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet and German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in a surprise visit in Germany ahead of a EU summit to press them to beef up rescue fund for debt-laden euro zone nations.
May through July 2011: Geithner battles with House Republicans over raising the U.S. debt limit.
Aug. 2, 2011: Congress approves increase in debt limit as part of deal that also puts in place a plan to automatically cut $1.2 trillion in defense and domestic programs over ten years if no other agreement is reached to trim nation's budget -- a key element of the so-called "fiscal cliff"
Aug. 5, 2011: S&P downgrades long-term U.S. credit rating by one notch, citing political dysfunction around the debt ceiling battle. Geithner is outraged and Treasury questions S&P's credibility, noting the agency's initial analysis relied on a government discretionary spending estimate that was $2 trillion too high.
Sept. 16, 2011: Geithner, speaking at EU finance ministers meeting in Poland, rankles some of the ministers as he urges them to beef up Europe's financial bailout fund.
Feb. 22, 2012: Obama administration rolls out corporate tax reform plan that would cut top rate to 28 percent from 35 percent, but declines to push plan ahead of November elections.
August/September 2012: Geithner in spotlight over probe into bank rigging of international interest rate benchmark Libor that dates back to his time at New York Fed. Documents show Geithner urged British authorities to look into how the rate was set, but critics question why New York Fed did not do more.
Late-November 2012: Obama chooses Geithner to lead negotiations with Congress to avert year-end fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax hikes.
Dec. 10, 2012: Treasury announces plan to sell its remaining shares in AIG, says combined Treasury-Fed $182 billion bailout had positive return of $22.7 billion.
Dec. 19, 2012: Treasury says to sell remaining shares in GM within 12-15 months; taxpayers stand to lose billions of dollars.
Jan. 1, 2013: Congress approves deal to avert fiscal cliff. Plan lets tax rates rise only for wealthiest Americans; postpones first installment of automatic spending cuts for two months.
Jan. 10, 2013: Obama nominates Lew to succeed Geithner.
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