When Ajay Banga became chief executive of Mastercard in 2010, he gained membership in a CEO club with a particularly toxic reputation.
The United States is still reeling from the financial crisis, and CEO financial public enemy No. There are widespread calls for bankers to be jailed for their role in ruining the economy—especially after the U.S. government spent billions of dollars bailing out financial institutions that made reckless bets on risky mortgages. (Banga’s previous employer, Citigroup, needed $45 billion to survive.) Lawmakers from both parties have excommunicated many of these people, including Citi’s CEO, in public meetings. The following year, protesters were outraged that there were no real-world consequences for financial CEOs to occupy Wall Street.
Mastercard and its rival Visa aren’t the main villains of this era – because the payments company spun off from the big banks, they don’t make loans to consumers or sell securities to investors. But he also did time in the political crosshairs during the Wall-Street-is-bad era. In October 2010, a few months after Banga officially took over, the Obama administration’s Justice Department sued (and ultimately decided) Mastercard and Visa for antitrust violations through Fees were charged to merchants. (The company has not admitted wrongdoing.)
Fast forward 13 years, and Banga’s financial background is certainly not toxic to former Vice President Obama. On Thursday, President Biden said he would nominate the former Mastercard CEO to run the World Bank, giving him “critical experience mobilizing public-private resources to address the most pressing challenges of our time.”
Of course, candidate Biden has never been associated with, or blamed for, these excesses. Banga, who will be the first Indian-born person to open the World Bank, is stepping down as CEO of MasterCard at the end of 2020 after winning rave reviews for his focus on financial inclusion, and work to improve access to financial services in developing countries.
He also made Mastercard shareholders happy, quadrupling revenues and profits during his tenure as CEO.. Now a vice chairman at private equity giant General Atlantic, Banga has also cultivated relationships among senior Democrats, served on the Obama administration’s cybersecurity council and advised Vice President Kamala Harris on immigration.
Still, Banga’s evolution from an early Obama antitrust target to Biden’s political candidate is a remarkable ray of light for crisis-era financial CEOs—especially those now working in the unpopular field of private equity. In addition, the Biden administration is clearly hoping that Banga will be PR improvement for the World Bank. The current president, David Malpass, last year created international chaos when he appeared to be skeptical about climate change; last week, Malpass announced that he would step down in June, almost a year before his five-year term was due to expire.
If Banga is confirmed for the World Bank role, he will be the first crisis-era financial CEO to hold such a high-level post. (Both Democratic and Republican administrations have nominated senior crisis-era bankers for top-level positions, though none have previously reached CEO level at a public company. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who turned down the role of Treasury Secretary under President Donald Trump. Trump , which comes closest to eliminating the obstacle.)
Not everyone is happy to see the financial industry disappear from executive resumes, especially when it comes to public sector entities focused on global development and fighting poverty. “President Joe Biden and Secretary Yellen have literally named the Vice Chairman of an international private equity firm (General Atlantic) to take his first job in public service at almost the highest level in the world,” Jeff Hauser, executive director of the progressive Revolving Door Project, said in a statement asking Biden to withdraw Banga’s nomination.
Hauser added in an email to fortune that Banga’s Big Finance background may be responsible if the presidency of the World Bank has a higher public profile in these countries. “I think it reflects a belief that Americans are not keeping up with international affairs,” he wrote. “I hope that view is wrong, but I don’t believe they’re going to make a banker for a senior job in the US government.”
The Atlantic General did not immediately respond to a request for comment from fortune.
But for other executives, Banga’s appointment to the World Bank offers hope for public service—especially for tech CEOs now facing antitrust lawsuits, or billionaire founders who replaced bankers as our business villains. The industry has a way of spinning in and out of good (and bad) public graces; next to the excess of Elon Musk or Sam Bankman-Fried, yesteryear’s positive financial CEO sober, responsible adult. In another 10 or 15 years, it’s possible that public (and political) sentiment about this current generation of tech executives will also change—or at least be next to whatever business is next on the hot seat.
Learn how to navigate and strengthen trust in your business with The Trust Factor, a weekly newsletter that examines what leaders need to succeed. Log in here.