So I turned to the Treasury’s Web site, where I found a list of 75 facts about Mr. Geithner’s tenure. Among other things, I learned that on his watch the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network assessed its two biggest penalties against banks for money-laundering and that the Treasury Department cracked down on offshore tax evasion. I also found he has logged more than 600,000 miles on international trips, played basketball in China and cricket in India, and has his signature on $17 billion of United States currency.

Clearly, Mr. Geithner was busy. He had to deal with severe financial troubles overseas, navigate relationships with China and Europe and negotiate with Congress on contentious tax matters.

Mr. Geithner has spoken to other journalists about the work that he and his colleagues did in the aftermath of the financial crisis. He said that this work “was incredibly effective for the broad interest of the economy and the financial system,” and that he believed his financial reform efforts “will significantly reduce the probability and the intensity of crises for a long period of time.” He also denied that bankers have too much political influence in Washington.

That’s news to Jeff Connaughton, who was chief of staff to Ted Kaufman, a former Democratic senator from Delaware. Mr. Connaughton, author of “The Payoff: Why Wall Street Always Wins,” said he believed that Treasury’s kid-glove treatment of the big banks would have the lasting effect of ensuring future crises.

While banks recovered quickly and the Dow is around 14,000, he said last week, “the economy is still sputtering for millions of Americans whose livelihoods were devastated by the financial crisis.” He added: “The legal and regulatory framework that Geithner leaves behind for preventing a future financial crisis inspires little confidence, especially amid scandals emerging almost weekly at banks too big and complex to manage, regulate, police and fail.”