CNBC’s Steve Liesman sat down for an exclusive interview with Jean Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank. In the interview ECB President explains how the financial crisis was viewed on the other side of the Atlantic.
Liesman asked Trichet if he could say with certainty that today an event like Lehman Brother could cause another global panic. His response: “today we are in a different universe, today I think the private sector is much more aware of all the risks that are at stake…we are in world where we could demonstrate….we have the capacity to cope with these enormous risks.”
When asked if it was a mistake to let Lehman collapse, Trichet said “Lehman was a trigger, but you could have another trigger. Lehman could have been saved, then AIG wouldn’t have been saved….and even if Lehman and AIG had been saved, then it would be a new entity which would have problems.”
