WASHINGTON, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C - news) executive and ex-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin called a top Treasury Department official on behalf of troubled Enron Corp. (NYSE:ENE - news) in early November, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
The call was the second disclosure by Treasury on Friday of apparent attempts to lobby Treasury Under Secretary for Domestic Finance Peter Fisher on Enron's behalf.
Earlier Friday, the Treasury said Enron President Lawrence ``Greg'' Whalley had called Fisher and Fisher ``inferred'' Whalley wanted Fisher to ask banks to extend credit to the now-bankrupt energy-trading behemoth.
Treasury spokeswoman Michele Davis told reporters that Rubin had asked Fisher on Nov. 8, ``what he thought of the idea of Fisher placing a call to rating agencies to encourage them to work with Enron's bankers to see if there is an alternative to an immediate downgrade.''
``Fisher responded that he didn't think it advisable to make such a call. Rubin said he thought that was a reasonable position. Fisher made no such call,'' Davis said.
Michael Schlein, a Rubin spokesman, said Davis' version as ``largely accurate.''
He said Rubin began the call by noting ``this may not be a good idea,'' and ended it in agreement with Fisher that it was not a good idea.
``Bob thought an Enron bankruptcy was an event of national importance and ... avoiding it was a good thing,'' Schlein said.
Rubin is chairman of the executive committee of financial services giant Citigroup Inc. Citigroup had a financial exposure to Enron but on Nov. 30 ratings agency Moody's Investors Services said the exposure was ``manageable.''
Citigroup and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM - news) were lead advisors on Houston-based Enron's planned merger with Dynegy Inc. (NYSE:DYN - news), which ended up falling apart. Analysts have estimated that Citigroup had about $800 million of exposure to the failed merger, including about $300 million of unsecured exposure.
Rubin served as the 70th Treasury Secretary, holding the post from Jan. 10, 1995, to July 2, 1999. His tenure was widely regarded as a successful one, as he helped preside over the economic boom of the nineties and was an influential shaper of President Clinton's economic policies.