Fannie Mae-No Politics (FNMA)

[Dollars1]

"During certain periods of his tenure, Tim Geithner spoke with you more than almost any other person. When the secretary of the Treasury calls, what do you talk about?
Generally, when somebody from government talks to me, they ask about retirement and my views of it. They may want to talk to me about Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC). They may want to talk to me about China or France or Germany. We manage more retirement money than any firm in the world. We manage more insurance company assets and sovereign wealth funds and on and on and on.

So we have a point of view. What I will say is I understand the propriety of the calls, whether it’s the secretary of the Treasury or a governor of a central bank or a finance minister for another country. It is generally a privilege to have that relationship. You have to understand, your conversations are one directional. It’s not for me to ask them, “What’s going on in the economy?” or, “What do you see?” It’s for them to learn some information from me. And over time with many of these men and women, you develop a personal relationship, too. So sometimes it can be as simple as, “How was your weekend?”


http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2013-08-08/blackrocks-larry-fink-on-the-retirement-savings-crisis