O’Neill Sees ‘Opportunity for Dialogue’ With Business

Treasury Secretary Paul H. O’Neill said Wednesday that he will consult regularly with about two dozen Wall Street executives to help form the administration’s economic policy.

Before meeting privately with a group that included Citigroup Inc. Chairman Sanford Weill, PaineWebber Group Inc. Chairman Donald Marron and Duquesne Capital Management founder Stanley Druckenmiller, O’Neill said he wanted to “organize a process so there’s a regular opportunity for dialogue” and “blur the distinction” between the private and public sectors.

After his appointment last month by President Bush, O’Neill encountered criticism from some industry executives for his lack of Wall Street experience.

O’Neill said in an interview that he doesn’t understand the criticism, given his extensive ties to the banking community during his 13 years as chairman of aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. He was also president of International Paper Co. from 1985 to 1987.

“When I read the newspapers, it seems that people don’t think I’ve been to New York before,” O’Neill said. “But it was great to see my old friends today and many of them I’ve worked with for 30 years.”

The group in the closed session expressed concern about waning consumer confidence and investor spirits, said Lawrence Kudlow, chief economist at ING Barings.

Bankers and economists also urged that tax cuts proposed by Bush be retroactive to Jan. 1, Kudlow said.

Also attending were J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Chairman Douglas Warner, former Fed Governor and Bear Stearns & Co. Chief Economist Wayne Angell, Capra Asset Management Inc. President James Capra and Blackstone Group Chairman Peter Peterson.