Ben Bernanke Used an E-Mail Alias as Financial World Was Crumbling

Market watchers are chatting about a WSJ story which highlights that former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke used the alias Edward Quince in e-mails during the financial crisis. The pseudonym was reveled in documents submitted as evidence in the AIG shareholder class-action lawsuit against the government.

A Fed spokeswomen confirmed Bernanke's past use of the alias but would not say why.

The Journal describes a Sept. 13, 2008 e-mail from then-Fed vice chairman Donald Kohn sent an email to then-Fed governor Kevin Warsh, then-New York Fed president Timothy Geithner and Mr. Quince, relaying a conversation Fed officials had with AIG:

“They were vague as to what they expected from us but it sounded like an open-ended liquidity factility,” Mr. Kohn wrote. “‘A bridge to nowhere’ at this point.”

Later in the email, Mr. Kohn went on: “At the end we could blink if they are too connected to fail, but that will open up an unknown can of worms in terms of access to discount-window credit.”

Mr. Quince replied shortly thereafter: “We think they are days from failure. They think it is a temporary problem. This disconnect is dangerous.”

More at the WSJ

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