America was nonetheless reeling from the monetary disaster, and monetary CEOs have been public enemy No. 1 within the eyes of hundreds of thousands of Individuals who had misplaced their jobs, their houses, or each when the housing bubble collapsed. There have been widespread requires bankers to be jailed for his or her function in destroying the financial system—particularly after the U.S. authorities spent billions of {dollars} bailing out monetary establishments that made reckless bets on dangerous mortgages. (Banga’s earlier employer, Citigroup, wanted a cool $45 billion to outlive.) Lawmakers of each events had excoriated many of those males, together with Citi’s CEO, in public hearings. The next 12 months, protestors offended in regards to the lack of real-world penalties for monetary CEOs would occupy Wall Road.

Mastercard and rival Visa weren’t the first villains of this period—as funds firms spun out from the massive banks, they didn’t make loans to customers or unload securities to buyers. However additionally they did time within the political crosshairs throughout that Wall-Road-is-evil period. In October 2010, a couple of months after Banga formally took over, the Obama administration’s Justice Division sued (and ultimately settled with) Mastercard and Visa for antitrust violations over the charges they charged to retailers. (The businesses didn’t admit wrongdoing.)

Quick-forward 13 years, and Banga’s monetary background positive doesn’t appear poisonous to Obama’s former Vice President. On Thursday, President Biden mentioned he would nominate the previous Mastercard CEO to run the World Financial institution, crediting him with “crucial expertise mobilizing public-private sources to deal with essentially the most pressing challenges of our time.” 

To make sure, Biden’s nominee has by no means been personally linked to, or blamed for, the excesses of the aughts. Banga, who can be the primary Indian-born particular person to run the World Financial institution, stepped down as MasterCard CEO in late 2020 after incomes glowing evaluations for his concentrate on monetary inclusion, and for working to extend entry to monetary providers within the creating world. 

He additionally made Mastercard shareholders pleased, boosting revenues and quadrupling revenue over the course of his CEO tenure. Now vice chairman at personal fairness large Normal Atlantic, Banga has additionally cultivated ties inside senior Democratic circles, serving on the Obama administration’s cybersecurity council and advising Vice President Kamala Harris on immigration. 

Nonetheless, Banga’s evolution from early Obama antitrust goal to Biden political nominee is a exceptional glow-up for a crisis-era monetary CEO—particularly one who’s at present working within the politically unpopular realm of personal fairness. Furthermore, the Biden administration is clearly hoping Banga will likely be a P.R. enchancment for the World Financial institution. The present president, David Malpass, final 12 months created a world mess when he appeared to forged doubt on the existence of local weather change; final week, Malpass introduced that he would resign in June, virtually a 12 months earlier than his five-year time period was as a result of expire.

If Banga is confirmed to the World Financial institution function, he would possible be the primary crisis-era monetary CEO to carry such a high-level submit. (Each Democratic and Republican administrations have appointed senior crisis-era bankers to top-level positions, though none had beforehand reached the extent of CEO at a publicly traded firm. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who declined the function of Treasury Secretary below President Donald Trump, got here the closest to breaking that barrier.)

Not everyone seems to be pleased to see financial-industry tarnish disappear from executives’ resumes, particularly with regards to main a public-sector entity targeted on world growth and combating poverty. “President Joe Biden and Secretary Yellen have actually named the Vice Chairman of a rapacious worldwide personal fairness agency (Normal Atlantic) to take his first job ever in public service at almost the very best stage on the planet potential,” Jeff Hauser, government director of the progressive Revolving Door Undertaking, mentioned in a press release calling for Biden to retract Banga’s nomination. 

Hauser added in an e mail to Fortune that Banga’s Large Finance background may need been extra of a legal responsibility if the submit of World Financial institution president had a better public profile within the states. “I assume it displays a perception that Individuals don’t observe worldwide affairs carefully,” he wrote. “I hope that view is mistaken, however I don’t consider they’d put a banker up for a senior job within the U.S. authorities.” 

Normal Atlantic didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from Fortune.

However for different executives, Banga’s appointment to the World Financial institution provides a glimmer of public-service hope—particularly for the tech CEOs at present dealing with antitrust lawsuits, or the founder-billionaires who’ve changed bankers as our enterprise villains du jour. Industries have a approach of biking out and in of the general public’s good (and dangerous) graces; subsequent to the excesses of an Elon Musk or a Sam Bankman-Fried, the monetary CEOs of yesteryear are positively sober, accountable adults. In one other 10 or 15 years, possibly public (and political) sentiment about this present era of tech executives may also have shifted—or a minimum of paled subsequent to regardless of the subsequent enterprise on the new seat will likely be.

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