Obama issues statement praising Paul Volcker

Former President Obama praised Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman who helped him shape a response to the financial crisis early in his first term, after news broke on Monday that Volcker had died at the age of 92. 

“I’ll remember Paul for his consummate wisdom, untethered honesty, and a level of dignity that matched his towering stature,” Obama said in a statement. “To me, he was the very definition of integrity, and I’m proud to have called him not just an adviser, but a friend.”

The Volcker Alliance, the former chairman’s nonprofit group, said that Volcker had died Sunday. 

Volcker served as chairman of the Federal Reserve under Presidents Carter and Reagan and joined the Obama administration to craft a response to the 2007-2008 financial crisis and recession, which led to the 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law.

“Paul Volcker believed not just in the power of markets, but in the corresponding power of the government’s duty to make sure that those markets work for everyone. Serving in Republican and Democratic administrations and as Chair of the Federal Reserve, he wielded his uncommon understanding of the American economy to make sure that families’ hard work was rewarded and secured,” Obama said.

The former president said it was Volcker’s “visionary leadership that finally brought runaway inflation under control” in the 1970s and 1980s. 

“Decades later, as we staved off a second Great Depression, he was by my side, helping to rescue our economy and put in place tough rules of the road to prevent another similar crisis from ever happening again — rules like the one that bears his name, which makes sure big banks can’t make risky bets with their customers’ deposits,” Obama said. 

The “Volcker rule,” a provision of Dodd-Frank that its namesake advocated for, was one of the financial industry’s main concerns with the legislation. Regulators appointed by President Trump approved a rollback of the rule earlier this year. 

“Because of Paul, our financial system is stronger, safer, and more accountable to those who matter most — the American people,” Obama said. 

Obama added that he and his wife, Michelle Obama, send their “warmest condolences” to Volcker’s family and those who served with him during his “six decades of distinguished service to the American people.”