Henry Paulson Quotes & Sayings

There is no way to stabilize the markets other than through government intervention. — Henry Paulson

India is one of the world's largest and most peaceful states with advanced nuclear technologies and has been isolated from the rest of the world on nuclear issues. — Henry Paulson

A state-based regulatory system is quite burdensome. It allows price controls to create market distortions. It can hinder development of national products and can directly impact the competitiveness of U.S. insurers. — Henry Paulson

I believe that the root cause of every financial crisis, the root cause, is flawed government policies — Henry Paulson

As Americans, we shouldn't like bailouts. Where I come from, if someone takes a risk and they're going to make the profit from that risk, they shouldn't have the taxpayer pay for the losses. — Henry Paulson

I didn't get the charm gene. — Henry Paulson

In just about every area of society, there's nothing more important than ethics. — Henry Paulson

There is a very real danger that financial regulation will become a wolf in sheep's clothing. — Henry Paulson

The most pressing and significant problems in the global economy are unsustainable structural issues with regard to the E.U. - fiscal deficits and the structure of the E.U. itself. — Henry Paulson

Our overriding goal in restructuring our financial architecture should be that taxpayers never again have to save a failing financial institution. — Henry Paulson

I always told people in the private sector, 'You can be the smartest person in the world, you can have the very best ideas, but if you can't sell them and you can't get other people to work with you, you're not going to succeed.' — Henry Paulson

Illiquid asset purchases are all about capital and encouraging private capital to come in. — Henry Paulson

I have always tried to live by the philosophy that when there is a big problem that needs fixing, you should run towards it, rather than away from it. — Henry Paulson

Non-bank financial institutions provide credit that is essential to U.S. businesses and consumers. — Henry Paulson

It is the policy of the federal government to use all resources at its disposal to make our financial system stronger. — Henry Paulson

As a child, I could beat most kids in sprints, but overall, wrestling was the most natural sport for me. In fact, I was a pretty good high school wrestler. I was unusually quick and strong. — Henry Paulson

Foreclosure is to no one's benefit. I've heard estimates that mortgage investors lose 40 to 50 percent on their investment if it goes into foreclosure. — Henry Paulson

I've been through periods of stress, turbulence in the market for over the course of my career, various times, and never in any of those other periods have we had the advantage of a strong economy underpinning the markets. — Henry Paulson

In the past, if a homeowner with a mortgage had a problem making the payment, often he'd get together with a lender and strike a deal, because foreclosures are very expensive to the lender and obviously not good for the homeowner and the community. — Henry Paulson

When our markets work, people throughout our economy benefit - Americans seeking to buy a car or buy a home, families borrowing to pay for college, innovators borrowing on the strength of a good idea for a new product or technology, and businesses financing investments that create new jobs. — Henry Paulson

We've had crooks from the beginning of time ... it's always very interesting and troubling why good people do bad things. — Henry Paulson

Too often, we restrict trade that would create U.S. jobs and is in our national interest. — Henry Paulson

When the economy is growing, there's a lot that can be done to deal with the deficit. — Henry Paulson

As I talk with the Chinese on currency, I encourage them to move much more quickly with opening up their capital markets to competition, because I don't believe the world is going to give them as much time as they would like. — Henry Paulson

I'm telling you that there is no silver bullet to keep home prices from going down or to prevent all foreclosures. — Henry Paulson

What I've said repeatedly is, 'I think the auto industry is a very important industry.' — Henry Paulson

I don't see (subprime mortgage market troubles) imposing a serious problem. I think it's going to be largely contained. — Henry Paulson

For decades, Indians have immigrated to the United States, joined our communities, and raised their families while maintaining their cultural heritage. — Henry Paulson

I've always said, 'I don't want to be irrelevant.' — Henry Paulson

An open, competitive, and liberalized financial market can effectively allocate scarce resources in a manner that promotes stability and prosperity far better than governmental intervention. — Henry Paulson

Regulation needs to catch up with innovation. — Henry Paulson

I never once considered that it was appropriate to put taxpayer money on the line in resolving Lehman Brothers. — Henry Paulson

My preference is for the Federal Reserve to be the systemic risk regulator, because the responsibility for identifying and limiting potential problems is a natural complement to its role in monetary policy. — Henry Paulson

I'm a straightforward person. I like to be direct with people. — Henry Paulson

Even if you don't have the authorities - and frankly I didn't have the authorities for anything - if you take charge, people will follow — Henry Paulson

The U.S. and China need to take steps - mostly individually, sometimes together - that will have the mutually beneficial effect of supporting and sustaining economic growth. — Henry Paulson

Payment systems are critically important for overall market stability. On a typical business day, U.S. payment and settlement systems settle transactions valued at over $13 trillion. — Henry Paulson

I have relied on prayer for health care all of my life. — Henry Paulson

As a Christian Scientist, I don't go to doctors and get diagnoses. — Henry Paulson

U.S. exports to China have more than quintupled since China entered the WTO and have grown more quickly than imports. In fact, China is America's fastest-growing export market. — Henry Paulson

Every global concern - economic, environmental or security-related - can be addressed more effectively when the U.S. and China work together. — Henry Paulson

When you have a big, ugly problem, there's never going to be a neat, elegant solution that is totally painless or without a cost. — Henry Paulson

I have great, great confidence in our capital markets and in our financial institutions. Our financial institutions, banks and investment banks, are strong. Our capital markets are resilient. They're efficient. They're flexible. — Henry Paulson

China saves too much, produces too much, sells too much to Americans and consumes too little. — Henry Paulson

In China, export lobbies have fought for policies that favor their interests and limit foreign competition. — Henry Paulson

As the Indian government has embraced greater economic openness, the creativity and expertise of the Indian workforce has been unleashed onto the world economic stage. — Henry Paulson

Economic growth and environmental protection are not at odds. They're opposite sides of the same coin if you're looking at longer-term prosperity. — Henry Paulson

I've never been antiregulation. I've always believed that raw, unregulated capitalism doesn't work. — Henry Paulson

If you've got a bazooka, and people know you've got it, you may not have to take it out. — Henry Paulson

For market discipline to constrain risk effectively, financial institutions must be allowed to fail. Under optimal financial regulatory and financial system infrastructures, such a failure would not threaten the overall system. — Henry Paulson

The Chinese have done some extraordinary things in terms of the investments they've made in alternative sources of energy. — Henry Paulson

China needs a currency that reflects underlying economic fundamentals. — Henry Paulson

I see the underlying economy as being very healthy, — Henry Paulson

I think all governments engage in intelligence gathering vis-a-vis other governments. — Henry Paulson

Buying a home today is a complex process, but that in no way excuses home buyers from their obligation for due diligence. — Henry Paulson

Anticompetitive practices hurt Chinese private firms nearly as much as foreign ones. — Henry Paulson

The worst is likely to be behind us — Henry Paulson

One of the things I enjoy the most is fishing. — Henry Paulson

India is a vibrant nation whose strength lies in its commitment to equal rights and to speech, religious and economic freedoms that enrich the lives of all citizens. India is not only the world's largest democracy; it is also a secular, pluralistic society committed to inclusive growth. — Henry Paulson

A Fed loan to Lehman Brothers would not have prevented a bankruptcy. — Henry Paulson

From the beginning of time, we've had financial crises. People always blame the banks and for good reason. When you look for the root causes, they're almost always failed government policies. — Henry Paulson

One of the most constant aspects of American life is change - and nowhere is it more evident than in our financial markets. — Henry Paulson

Many of the Western democracies - including the U.S. - have a problem that voters want benefits they don't want to pay for. — Henry Paulson

If the financial system collapses, it's really, really hard to put it back together again. — Henry Paulson

China and the U.S. are the two largest importers of oil. They are the two largest emitters of carbon. — Henry Paulson

Well, as you know, we're working through a difficult period in our financial markets right now as we work off some of the past excesses. But the American people can remain confident in the soundness and the resilience of our financial system. — Henry Paulson

A single agency responsible for systemic risk would be accountable in a way that no regulator was in the run-up to the 2008 crisis. With access to all necessary information to monitor the markets, this regulator would have a better chance of identifying and limiting the impact of future speculative bubbles. — Henry Paulson

It's a safe banking system, a sound banking system. Our regulators are on top of it. This is a very manageable situation. — Henry Paulson