My Moony-loving Congressman, Danny Davis1, is in a wee bit of controversy himself.
Two Illinois congressmen urged the Treasury in October to avoid taking any regulatory action against a struggling bank in their state, illustrating the aggressive efforts some politicians are taking to help hometown lenders during the bank crisis.
In a letter they sent, Democratic Reps. Danny K. Davis and Luis Gutierrez also asked government officials to provide financial aid to National Bank of Commerce, based in the Chicago suburb of Berkeley, Ill. (Read the letter.)
Democratic Reps. Danny Davis and Luis Gutierrez wrote Treasury in late October asking the government to help a struggling bank in their state and halt any regulatory action against the lender. Read the letter.
Regulators rebuffed the request, and the two-branch bank failed on Jan. 16.
Lawmakers often seek to help home-state interests, and there is nothing illegal about forwarding requests to regulators and other government officials. But legislators normally stop short of action that might appear to be interfering in the way regulators examine and supervise banks, a process that is supposed to be impartial.
[From Politicians Asked Feds to Prop Up Ailing Bank – WSJ.com] [non-WSJ subscribers use this link]
Too early too ascertain if this is a real scandal, or simply trumped up gossip the Rupert Murdoch version of the Wall Street Journal likes so much. We shall see.
Footnotes:- see also an archived portion of an article from Rich Miller’s essential Capitol Fax Blog [↩]
I thank Res. Davis and Gutierrez for trying to save National Bank of Commerce; I may not always agree with them, but a heartfelt thank you is going out to them on this one. It’s sad that the bail out goes to individuals who spend it on golden parachutes, extravagant bonuses and opulent parties. I assure all of you the executives of National Bank of Commerce would have placed all funds in saving this bank. It’s heartbreaking to see this bank gone. I am neither an employee nor a customer; just a neighbor who is heartbroken for the National Bank of Commerce team.