As noted by public records on September 18th, 2008, Paul Ryan sold stock in US banks on the same day he attended a confidential meeting where high ranking government officials discussed that the sector was heading into negative territory. The banks that were reportedly in heavy financial trouble, such as Citigroup and Wachovia, had stocks sold off by Ryan that day.
Ryan then bought shares in Goldman Sachs, the old employer of Henry Paulson who was the Secretary of Treasury at the time. Paulson, along with Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke, were two of the representatives who attended the September 18th meeting, outlined what they saw as the potential downfall of the banking sector. At the time of the selling off of the stocks, it was not considered an illegal sale.
Wachovia’s share price went into freewill as expected, plunging 39% on the afternoon of September 26 of that year as investors prepared for what they saw as the pending collapse. Wells Fargo would swoop in and take over with a $15 billion dollar purchase of Wachovia.
Citigroup, the second bank reported to be heading into the same troubled waters, also had it’s share price plummet after the September 18th meeting. The troubled asset relief program, also known as TARP, would come to the aid of Citigroup in October of 2008.
Goldman Sachs and Wells Fargo have emerged as two of Paul Ryan’s largest financial supporters, subsequently.