Geithner,as member and overseer,forged ties to finance Wall St club

But in the 10 months since then,the government has in many ways embraced his prescription. Through an array of new programs,the Fed and Treasury have assumed an unprecedented role in the banking system,using unprecedented amounts of taxpayer money.

And more often than not,Geithner has been a leading architect of those bailouts. Today,Geithner is Treasury secretary,and as he seeks to rebuild the nations financial system with taxpayer assistance and a regulatory overhaul,he finds himself a locus of discontent.

An examination of Geithners five years as president of the Fed shows that he forged unusually close relationships with executives of Wall Streets giant financial institutions. His actions,as a regulator and later a bailout king,often aligned with the industrys interests and desires,according to interviews with financiers,regulators and analysts and a review of Fed records.

Geithner said his actions in the bailout were motivated solely by a desire to help businesses and consumers. But in a financial crisis,he added,the government has to take risk,and we are going to be doing things which ultimately are going to benefit the institutions that are at the core of the problem.