Federal Reserve chairman who fought derivatives regulation and in 2008 admitted a "flaw" in his free-market view
An economist raised in New York, Greenspan was the 13th Chairman of the Federal Reserve from 1987 to 2006. In 1998, with Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt, he asked Congress to stop the Commodity Futures Trading Commission from reviewing the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives, and he backed the deregulation that led to the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000. He was criticised for feeding the housing bubble with low rates after the 2001 recession and by encouraging adjustable-rate mortgages. At a House hearing on 23 October 2008 he said that those who had relied on lenders' self-interest to protect shareholders, himself especially, were "in a state of shocked disbelief", and admitted that he had found "a flaw" in his ideology. He died in Washington in June 2026, aged 100.
Activities and affiliations
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1987–2006
United States state institutionsChairman of the Federal ReserveMain
Economy, finance and planning
Career Timeline
- 1987–2006Chairman of the Federal Reserve
- 1998Letter opposing CFTC review of OTC derivatives
- 2008.10.23Admitted a "flaw" at a House hearing
Related historical events
- 1997.07.02–1998.09.23The Asian financial crisis and South Korea's IMF crisisChair of the US Federal ReserveHis mid-1990s rate increases pushed up the dollar, undermining Asian currencies tied to it, and he oversaw the LTCM rescue of 1998.
- 2007.08.09–2009.06The 2008 Global Financial CrisisFormer Chairman of the Federal ReserveAs chairman in 1987–2006 opposed regulating derivatives, and at an October 2008 hearing admitted a "flaw" in his view of the world.