Geithner Is the Greatest (Possibly a Genius)....

...says Carlyle Group's Randal Quarles, who will probably soon be asking Geithner for money, when Carlyle starts its bank buying binge.

"He's a very strong choice for some very specific reasons," Quarles told On Wall Street. "He has a wealth of experience at the Treasury and Federal Reserve. He's been intimately involved in dealing with the financial crisis. And before the financial crisis he was very thoughtful and involved in trying to reduce some specific risks in the system."

Before the crisis he was involved in trying to reduce some specific risks in the system? Oh yeah, that worked well.

Quarles has already managed to get Boston Private Financial Holdings Inc. $150 million in capital through the Paulson program.

Ht2peu