Citigroup’s Man Goes to the Treasury Department

Feb. 22 (Bloomberg) -- Jack Lew is the nominee for Treasurysecretary whose own bonus as an investment banker was bailed outby the Treasury Department when it rescued Citigroup Inc. in2008. He owes much to America’s taxpayers. He should also begrateful to Citigroup for agreeing to let him rejoin thegovernment without suffering much for it financially.

An intriguing revelation from Lew’s Senate confirmationhearing last week was that he stood to be paid handsomely byCitigroup if he left the company for a top U.S. government job,under his 2006 employment agreement with the bank. The wordingof the pay provisions made it seem, at least to me, as ifCitigroup might have agreed to pay Lew some sort of a bounty toseek out, and be appointed to, such a position.