Stuart A. Levey

In January 2011, Levey announced he planned to step down from his role the following month. His deputy, David S. Cohen, was set to replace him.

While much of what Levey did on a day-to-day basis was not seen or reported, he participated in some controversial decisions aimed at protecting the country that tested the limits of privacy laws.

In 2006, the New York Times reported that Levey's division routinely acquired Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication [SWIFT] information, which tracks bank transactions worldwide. The information included the bank customers' names and account numbers. The Treasury began acquiring this information shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, prior to Levey's Treasury stint, but it continued following his arrival. The Treasury shared the information with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency.

But maybe more crucially, he was credited as the brains behind a stealth war on Iran, masterminding an attempt to get private banks to cut off their dealings with Iranian banks, based on the idea that they're not up to international banking standards. It's been ruthlessly effective.

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