No Benefit, No Improper Action, No Failure to Disclose, No One
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No Benefit, No Improper Action, No Failure to Disclose, No One Influenced: No Case No Benefit, No Improper Action, No Failure to Disclose, No One Influenced: ) No Case In the matter of Representative Maxine Waters The Basics • National Bankers Association or OneUnited? • Benefit? ) • Assista nce? • Failure to Instruct? • Appearance? " S"i" 07 2009 Z I ~SAI'I '(flO COOPER September 6. 2008 The HQJlorabJe HImry M. PauJ.son. k Stc1e181)' U%!itcd S1a1es Dcpartmel21 oftbe Treasury Ofti"oftho Treasurer ISOO Petlmjlvania A'\'UJ\1C, NW WasbiDgton. D.C. 20220 Re; Nadon! Buken.4_e.....a - C••menu Regardla(IRljdd 011 Mfaodty Bn.kI'lIt Co_IioDwith Co.......a1onbIp ofF...meMale ••d FroddJlI MIICl I am wdtlDa d1Ja lctlllr on behalf of the NatloDaI Banlc«s Assoalatioa (''NBA"), 1hc largast and olelem' ttade orpn!zatl411 in tbc United StaIl:a tcplC-tina minority and _-owned bank, MId thrifts, lilUllded in 1927, to aDlOlIg other roles, IIlltVc as an advocato on leglaJadve and repIa10ry matWr& We /Il1l wrl1ing this 1tlb:l' UJPIl1Iy rqJlIl'dlug your pa1dbtg resolution of tho silUalion rClpMUlB F~ Mao llIId FR;ddie.~ (coUeclivc1y. t1WJ "GIlEs"). We WllI1\: 10 _ tbaI tho wl\lICliIIlI ofndaority Ilal:aare ~ pmtoeted lJIlDf sud! raoludlle. To be ..... We 11ft DOt " t tc 1111' -orftT ..... fo .-tv. .., wIDdfaU hm ..naoliallQ.. JIatber. _ tbDpIt liN.ulh,II ~ ofdac -e.Y _ ~ IIa ..GSEa. I.......--.eadI-'rlI)r ..Ilk _ ...... _,._ the am__ of .... If ....Y8Ihd ID1D ....... , ••ecJltOclIk of..GSIll8, SlId ..--.cIof~ tIaat ....-ifa I"etI1ftI .. plll't oftIiI1 J'CIlIIudDa yoa 4.....p. Ai. barw ............ ........th Gil: ~hi ~Ion.tPl¥-oHty bulk IllatwlU 1"8CIIrD....rd due ....... Ia".......t fa GSE WDaIlIshDp" bve", iImatluItt We 1lIIdorstaIId why you aie ac:tl"ll to Ir-ve the GSEa. 1be GSEa SCIlVCl an ~ rolo In the fUric ofUS 110m. o-.bip, maIdna h_ownersldp _ avniblblc 10 tho llitlDllliy of1tle £.-Ilited SIatos. 'l'heIe -W bciulti1s, .. wdl as the CCOIlOlIIlo Cl&ImJity that _aid fbUow _ the OSEa to collapse. more IIlan W8mIIIt &O'oielJlll'lCllll ncliQll 0I11h11r behaIt Bob Cooper '; From: Mr. Michael Grant'lllle...g~.......- ..Z1 Sent: Tuesday, September 09, 2008 12:1 BPM To: Bob Cooper Subject: RestruclUrlng Bob, How's your meeting going with the feds? I understand Congrasawoman Maxine waters In leading the charge? Do you have any Ideas of how we can compile an aggregate Impact of Freddie and Fannle'll Introducing on NBA members? Could I have your cell number? Please call me today at your convenience. Michael Grant, JD President National Bankers AssOCIation '., ,. Bob Cooper ., From: fweekes ~BANKCBN.coml Sent: Tuesday,"'Seirteiiiber 09,2008 10:08 A~ To: Cc: SUbJect: Please see attached article in today's Washington Post. Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) request to the Treasury Department was InItiated by discussions with Rep Waters over the weekend by the association. Bob Cooper (Chair Elect) Is In attendance at the meeting with Treasury representing the membership and all minority banks, and we will send an update on the outcome. Mortgage Giants' Rescue Imperils Some Banks By Binyamln Appelbaum Washington POBt StaffWrlter Tnesday, September 9, 2008; AOl The bailout ofFannie Mae and Freddie Mac threatens the financial health ofseveral dozen ofthe banks that bought shares in the two companies, regulators say, including some institutions active in the Washington region andbanks focused on less-profitable community development lending. Executives at some ofthose banks say they felt encouraged to invest inthe companies because a federal agency, the Office ofthe Comptroller ofthe Currency. had classified shares in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as extremely low-risk. investments. Stock in the two companies has noW lost most of its value. Banks that held the shares as part oftheir reserves, the cushion ofmoney that regulators require banks to keep on hand,. must now raise money to replace the lost funds. With banks already hard-pressed to find investors, analysts said some banks that bet onFannie Mae and - -- banks raise replacement eapital. At her requ",.t, Treasury Department officials agreed to meet with some ballk executives today. Some Washington area banks are also affected, including Gateway Financial Holdings ofVirginia Beach, which bought $40 million in shares that were worth only $5 million atthe end oftrading yesterday, and Central Virginia Bank ofRiehmond, whieh said it would be "on the hubble" ofneeding to raisemore capital ifits holdings lose all oftheir value. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae were created by the federal government to increase the supply and reduce the cost ofmortgage loans. TIle companies borrowed money at a low cost because the govenunent involvement gave investors a sense ofsecurity. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac used that money to buy loans from banks and other lenders, allowing those eompanies to make more loans. Instead ofrelying on government flIDding". the companies sold stock to investors. The vast majority ofthose shares were common stock, the basic building blocks ofa public corporation. But as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac needed more money, they resorted to selling "preferred shares,II which oftered investors a higher dividend and greater bankruptey protection. Onder the takeover,'the value ofboth kinds ofshares was sharply redueed. Shareholders now own only 20 percent ofeaeh company. Ifthe companies continue to lose ITIOney, that stake could keep shrinking to the point () fbeing completely worthless. And there will be no more dividend payments. On Sunday, various. regulatory agencies issued ajoint statement saying they were aware oftlle banks' problems 'I ., and would work try to help them raise additional capital ifnecessary. .Members ofthe banking industry say they interpreted the statement as an indication that regulators would show special mercy. One executive compared the situation to Ifurricane Katrina, when banles were afforded leniency. Ifregulators are inclined to do so again, there are tools at thdr disposal. They could give banks more time to raise money. They could also waive standard restriction.'i on banks that need to raise money. allowing thCln to use more aggressive su'alegies, such as gathering deposits through third-party brokers. But it is not clear that the regulators intend to be lenient. An OCC oflicial said the agency was inclined to help banks that were othC1wise healthy. Hut other regulators said they could not describe any special plans to help banks. Treasury officials say they will simply help eOllileet the banks with the right people at regulatory agencies. I~arger banks ean more easily absorb the losses. 1.1). Morgan Chase owns shares with a face value of$1.2 billion. A complete loss would erase a month or two ofits profits but do no lasting damage. M&T Baok, a Buffalo company with branches 01 Maryland and the Distri<.."t, owns about $120 million ofshares in the two companies. "IfYOll assume for a minute that we write ofl'100 p(;"'TCent' ofthat investment, even ifyou did that, it wouldjusf. have minimal impact on our eapital. We have enough to he able to offset the negative impact," M&T Chief Financial Officer Rene Jones said during a presentation to industry analysts in New York yesterday. For smaller banks, however, even smaller holdings can cause large prob.lems. 2 FOR lMMEDlATE RELEASE Contact: Michael Grant (202) 588-• . ~8tiol1alb8I1kers.org PRESS RELEASE The Board ofDirectors orthe National Bankers Association (NBA) at its 2009 LegislativefRegulatory Conference being held in Washington, DC from March 17-19 reviewed the events previously reported by the Boston Globe on March 14, 2009 regarding actions taken by thl~ Association's then Chair-Elect and Chairperson ofits Legislative Committee, Robert P. Cooper. ' The Board detennined that actions taken by Mr. Cooper were consistent with practices and authority granted him by the Association. For over 80 years. the National Bankers Association has served as the voice of minority banks. As that voice, the NBNs overarching goal is to protect, preserve and promote minority banks. As minority banks face many unique challenges in this difficult economic environment. the Association will continue to solicit the support and the strong advocacy from the White House Administration, members ofCongress and regulatory bodies to aid in its mission. -30· CONFIDENTIAL september 10, 2008 1bcHonotIble Anthony W. R)'IIl MtlDl Under SecretarY tot FIDIIMLtI flIslltutIonl Policy UII&d Statos DcpartmeDt aftha 'fuas\J.ry 1500 PIlIIIISYJVIIIlia AVIlIIII8. NW Washin&toJl. D.C. 2D22O RIll National BanIonAuoeI8tfoJl- Mlaorily BokC.pit.1 RCltoJ'lltioJl ProgrJIII Dear Mr. Ryzm: As a fuIIow.up to OW' mcotinB yeaIllrda.y, 1'\11 aim:crdy appm:iated tho oppol\llJllty to di_ with you, Seafor 'IJaIwty 1'O]ll'llSll118dvo. aDd llaIlk.atoty IgCncy oftiCWs the JIIIplIIlt of tho recent 00JIlIlll'VlIf0 of F8IIIlie Mao and Pn=ddie Mac (llolleotive1y. the "OSJils") on mlDorily dcpodjory lnatitutl.ons ("WIa"). We ""l"'tW:«! !but 'Deaaury should povide apptOpl'1llte JIl1*l1lion on an UtgaIt bIIaI.s to lMlrt JIIIIlIibk fid1ure of cmo if not 110-.1 of our lnalil.... a aitua1lw that woold .1IIIdoulm:dly ~ 1Imm&h tbc cntim .mne:dlf benJdJig fOCIDt. ~1181JreparBbJe lJamIlo tho lnoer-cI.,. llOIDlIIIIIIiII we ICml. t/lIWl:o wlth a typb1.~ IJeuk. 110 baoJc will slI=p fa· to __Jlmdr.cit7 0)Ilw.UlllIfaslDuJdl:Wil 01our1lIllIb 1WI. As • 1'll8II1t of IIul dIlIowalona at tlle ~ alld s.u1JBlIJ!~. '"' ba~ ICIBncIl our pmJflOl4llllOlll'" witfl our ~..to pvIIIct ~ bIIlIb from fldluro or ~ aclvertl!l11D)lll!lt drlcto _ cIiiOlflJo in ttle 0S1I p1.11Ill &toak. Acoozdlaaly. wo wvuId ptIlpQSO die ~ MiIladJiy Biint CapitalR4llIllnltlollPtllpm: Alleged Benefit: Preservation of Stock via $12 Million (TARP) • "Respondents Chief of Staff provided continued assistance to OneUnited in their efforts to obtain legislation that ultimately resulted in OneUnited receiving funding from Treasury. (SAV, 42)" • "The Preservation of the Value of the Respondents husbands investment in OneUnited would personally benefit respondent." (SAV, 44) • SAV alleges that COS facilitated TARP funding.