By Phyllis Groner
In a candid assessment of the global economy, the former chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch told a Westport audience tonight that the recession is not yet over.
Former Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO David Komansky (l) converses with Rabbi Robert Orkand (r) tonight at Westport’s Temple Israel. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Phyllis Groner for WestportNow.com
“It’s very hard to assume that the trials and tribulations that the global economy have gone through are over now,” Westporter David Komansky told the Men’s Club at Temple Israel.
“I think much of it is behind us, but I think they’re still problems that are ahead of us that we are working our way through.”
Komansky spoke in a dialogue with Rabbi Robert Orkand and answered audience questions in what he said was only his second such appearance since retiring from Merrill Lynch in 2003.
“The economy is hardly standing on its own two feet right now,” he said.
“It’s being propped up—and I think properly being propped up—by the many, many different government efforts, and I don’t think you can really say the recession has ended until you see the economy function without the government aid and support that’s going on right now.”
Komansky said the world has experienced “the cataclysmic ending of a period excessive liquidity and balance sheet leveraging” and added: “There’s plenty of blame to go around—banks, government, and politicians.”
The one-time Merrill retail broker in Queens, N.Y., said, “The biggest issue is to find a way to keep firms from becoming too big to fail.”
“We need stronger regulatory agencies, not more of them,” he said.
Komansky said the world has gone through extraordinary times in a short period. “I think short term we’ve learned a bitter lesson—a lesson that will stay with us for a period of time,” he said.
When talking about Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, Komansky said: “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is (not true).” He added, “He (Madoff) flew under the radar screen.”
