Geoffrey Okamoto

Geoffrey Okamoto
First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund
In office
March 19, 2020 – January 21, 2022
PresidentKristalina Georgieva
Preceded byDavid Lipton
Succeeded byGita Gopinath
Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for International Finance and Development
Acting
In office
July 2018 – March 19, 2020
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byRamin Toloui
Succeeded byBrent Neiman
Personal details
Born
Geoffrey William Seiji Okamoto

(1985-01-18) January 18, 1985 (age 39)
Torrance, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona (BS)
Georgetown University (MPP)

Geoffrey William Seiji Okamoto (born January 18, 1985) is an American economist and government official who served as first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund.[1] Okamoto previously served as the acting assistant secretary for international finance and development in the United States Department of the Treasury. He was nominated for this position on January 1, 2019, by the White House and was never confirmed by the United States Congress.[2] He previously served as acting assistant secretary for international markets and investment, for which he was also not confirmed.

Okamoto left the global lender in early 2022, and was replaced by Gita Gopinath.[3]

Early life and education

Okamoto was born in Torrance, California, and raised in Irvine, California, where he attended Woodbridge High School. While in high school, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout.

He attended the California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and earned a Bachelor of Science in computer information systems in 2008.[4] He earned a Master of Public Policy from the McCourt School of Public Policy in 2011.[5] Okamoto completed his graduate research on the effect bank reserve requirements have historically had on the pricing and availability of bank loans.[6] While in graduate school, he studied at Corpus Christi College, Oxford.[7]

In 2019, Georgetown University awarded Okamoto the 1820 Graduate Award for "outstanding leadership and service to the university."[8]

Career

Consulting

Okamoto began his career as a consultant for KPMG in 2008. He worked with clients in the financial services, asset management, technology, and healthcare sectors on matters related to regulatory compliance, risk management, and operational efficiency.[9]

Congressional aide

While completing graduate studies at Georgetown University, Okamoto was hired by John Campbell in 2011 to serve as his advisor on financial services and other economic-related matters.[10] In 2013, he was appointed policy director for monetary policy and trade for the House Financial Services Committee.[11]

While policy director, he worked to force conditions on additional funds the Obama administration sought for the International Monetary Fund.[12] This included a restoration of key rules governing very large loans which had been removed to allow IMF lending to Greece.[13] Ultimately, the IMF amended its rules and Congress allowed the funding provision to pass.[14]

In 2014, he was hired by Pat Toomey to serve as his chief advisor for the Senate Banking Committee. When Republicans regained the majority in the Senate in 2016, Okamoto became the majority staff director for the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions.[15]

U.S. Department of the Treasury

In November 2016, Okamoto was recruited onto the transition team for Donald Trump working on the Treasury Department's landing team, focussing on international economics and domestic finance. In 2017, the President appointed him deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury within the Office of International Affairs, with responsibilities over international financial institutions and sovereign debt matters.[16] He launched the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative, a key priority Ivanka Trump, and currently serves as chairman of its Governing Committee.[17]

Upon the administration withdrawing its initial nominee for assistant secretary, Okamoto was elevated to serve, on an acting basis, as assistant secretary for international finance and development. Okamoto was responsible for several divisions with responsibilities for regional and bilateral economic engagement, international economic coordination through the G7 and G20, international monetary affairs, and executing U.S. participation in international financial institutions. He was never confirmed by the United States Congress.[18]

Okamoto represented the United States on the board of the World Bank's Global Environment Facility.[19] He has been active in assisting governments with economic reform, including Argentina, Haiti, Jordan, Latvia,[20] Somalia,[21] and Ukraine.[22]

Okamoto also held concurrent appointments by President Trump to be Acting Governor of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the African Development Bank, and the African Development Fund.[23]

  • Okamoto (center), in his capacity as acting Assistant Secretary for International Finance and Development, at a board meeting of the Millennium Challenge Corporation in 2019
    Okamoto (center), in his capacity as acting Assistant Secretary for International Finance and Development, at a board meeting of the Millennium Challenge Corporation in 2019


IMF

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva nominated Okamoto to serve as her Deputy on March 12, 2020. Ms. Georgieva came to know Mr. Okamoto during his time at Treasury through his engagement with the IMF and World Bank. In her endorsement, Ms. Georgieva cited Okamoto's role to help bolster and preserve the IMF's lending envelope during the previous two IMF resource reviews.[24]

At the IMF, Okamoto has called for debt relief for poorer countries suffering the economic harm resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic. [25] [26]

On April 12, 2021, Okamoto set a goal of distributing a $650 billion allocation of Special Drawing Rights monetary reserves to member countries by the summer of 2021.[27]

Blog

In 2019 it was reported that Okamoto had run the blog TheOka(DOT)Net in 2004 and 2005. The blog highlights a number of fringe opinions including advocacy for torture in the War on terror and bombing Al-Jazeera transmitters.[28]

References

  1. ^ "Alumnus Geoffrey Okamoto Approved as IMF's No. 2 Official | PolyCentric". 25 March 2020.
  2. ^ "PN23 - Nomination of Geoffrey William Seiji Okamoto for Department of the Treasury, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". 3 January 2020.
  3. ^ Shalal, Andrea; Lawder, David (2021-12-02). "IMF says chief economist Gopinath to replace Okamoto as No. 2 official". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-12-03.
  4. ^ "Interning At The Top | PolyCentric". polycentric.cpp.edu. 2 March 2008. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  5. ^ "Alumni Board". mccourt.georgetown.edu. Archived from the original on 2018-08-16. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  6. ^ S., Okamoto, Geoffrey W. (2011). The effect of bank reserve requirements on lending volume and interest rates faced by borrowers (thesis). Georgetown University.{{cite thesis}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  7. ^ "McCourt School Policy Perspectives Fall 2017 Page 27". issues.washingtoniancustommedia.com. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  8. ^ "Service Recognition Award Recipients". Georgetown Alumni. 2015-08-05. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  9. ^ "McCourt School Policy Perspectives Fall 2017". Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  10. ^ "Cong. Dir. 112th - Congressional Directory for the 112th Congress (2011-2012), December 2011". www.gpo.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  11. ^ "Cong. Dir. 113th - Congressional Directory for the 113th Congress (2013-2014), February 2014". www.gpo.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  12. ^ "Obama tries again to get approval of IMF reform". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  13. ^ "On Colombia, the IMF, robots, the media, Africa, jobs, streaming, Northern Ireland". The Economist. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  14. ^ "IMF Survey : IMF Reforms Policy for Exceptional Access Lending". IMF. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  15. ^ "Quarles geography issue fixed?". POLITICO. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  16. ^ "5 key developments out of White House -- raft of new agency personnel -- Senate to vote on FDA head next week". POLITICO. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  17. ^ Talley, Josh Zumbrun and Ian (2017-10-12). "World Bank Launches Women's Fund Championed by Ivanka Trump". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2018-07-30.
  18. ^ "PN23 - Nomination of Geoffrey William Seiji Okamoto for Department of the Treasury, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". 3 January 2020.
  19. ^ "GEF Council Meeting Summary of the Chairs" (PDF).
  20. ^ курс, The Baltic Course-Балтийский. "Latvian financial sector still facing major changes - Reirs". The Baltic Course | Baltic States news & analytics. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  21. ^ "Somalia PM holds talks with top US officials in Washington". Garowe Online. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  22. ^ "NBU independence important for Ukraine's financial stability, investment attractiveness". Interfax-Ukraine. Retrieved 2020-02-07.
  23. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Key Additions to his Administration". whitehouse.gov. Retrieved 2018-07-30 – via National Archives.
  24. ^ "IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Proposes the Appointment of Geoffrey Okamoto as First Deputy Managing Director". International Monetary Fund. March 12, 2020.
  25. ^ Peru, Gabriele Steinhauser in Johannesburg, Saeed Shah in Islamabad, Pakistan, and Ryan Dube in Lima (8 April 2021). "As U.S. Economy Roars Back, Life in Many Poor Countries Gets Worse". Wall Street Journal.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  26. ^ "IMF Reserves No Substitute for Debt Restructuring, Official Says". Bloomberg.com. 9 April 2021.
  27. ^ Lawder, David (12 April 2021). "IMF aims to distribute SDR reserves this summer, Okamoto says". Reuters.
  28. ^ Seidman, Jesse (5 February 2019). "Blog That Ran Under Trump Treasury Nominee's Name Advocated Torture and Suggested Bombing Al Jazeera". news.vice.com. Vice News. Retrieved 5 February 2019.

External references