THE BEST WAY TO ROB A BANK IS TO OWN ONE
THE BEST WAY TO ROB A BANK IS TO OWN ONE
HOW CORPORATE EXECUTIVES AND POLITICIANS LOOTED THE S&L INDUSTRY
WILLIAM K. BLACK
Copyright 2005 by the University of Texas Press
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First edition, 2005
Requests for permission to reproduce material from this work should be sent to Permissions, University of Texas Press, P.O. Box 7819, Austin, TX 787137819.
The paper used in this book meets the minimum requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.481992 (R1997) (Permanence of Paper).
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Black, William K. (William Kurt), 1951
The best way to rob a bank is to own one: how corporate executives and politicians looted the S&L industry / William K. Black. 1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-292-70638-3 (cloth: alk. paper)
1. Savings and loan associationsCorrupt practicesUnited States. 2. Savings and loan association failuresUnited States. 3. Savings and loan bailout, 19891995. I. Title.
HG2151.B52 2005
332.320973dc22
2004021232
To June: Im glad Joy burned the soup.
CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
AA | Arthur Andersen, a Big 8 accounting firm |
ACC | American Continental Corporation; Keating holding company used to buy Lincoln Savings |
ACFE | Association for Certified Fraud Examiners |
ADC | acquisition, development, and construction |
AICPA | American Institute of Certified Public Accountants |
ARM | adjustable-rate mortgage |
AY | Arthur Young & Company, a Big 8 accounting firm |
C&D | cease and desist order |
CDSL | California Department of Savings and Loans |
CEBA | Competitive Equality in Banking Act (of 1987); authorized the FSLIC recapitalization |
CEO | chief executive officer |
CFO | chief financial officer |
CPA | certified public accountant |
CRA | Community Reinvestment Act |
CRAP | creative regulatory accounting principles |
DCCC | Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee |
DNC | Democratic National Committee |
DOJ | United States Department of Justice |
ERC | Enforcement Review Committee |
FAS | Financial Accounting Standards |
FASB | Financial Accounting Standards Board; top accounting-profession standard-setting body |
FBI | Federal Bureau of Investigation |
FCPA | Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; forbids bribery of foreign officials |
FDIC | Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; federal banking insurance agency |
FHLB | Federal Home Loan Bank; a regional bank that regulated and made loans to S&Ls |
FHLBB | Federal Home Loan Bank Board; federal S&L regulator |
FHLBSF | Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco; FHLB with jurisdiction over California, Arizona, and Nevada |
FICO | Financial Corporation set up to recapitalize FSLIC |
FSLIC | Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation; federal deposit insurer for S&Ls |
FY | fiscal year |
GAAP | generally accepted accounting principles |
GAO | General Accounting Office; federal auditors (recently renamed the Government Accountability Office) |
GPRA | Government Performance Results Act of 1993 |
IRS | Internal Revenue Service; federal tax agency |
KIO | Kuwaiti Investment Office; co-owner with Lincoln Savings of the Phoenician Hotel |
LTOB | bank board regulation that restricted loans-to-one-borrower |
MBS | mortgage backed securities |
MCP | management consignment program |
MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
NAHB | National Association of Home Builders |
NAR | National Association of Realtors |
NASSLS | National Association of State Savings and Loan Supervisors |
NCFIRRE | National Commission on Financial Institution Reform, Recovery and Enforcement; appointed to study the causes of the S&L debacle |
NRV | net realizable value |
OCC | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency; federal regulator of national banks |
OE | Office of Enforcement; enforcement office at the Bank Board |
OES | Office of Examinations and Supervision; original name of the supervisory office at the Bank Board |
OGC | Office of General Counsel |
OMB | Office of Management and Budget; budgetary agency of the federal executive branch |
OPER | Office of Policy and Economic Research; economic office of the Bank Board |
OPM | Office of Personnel Management; federal personnel agency |
ORPOS | Office of Regulatory Policy, Oversight, and Supervision; supervisory office of the Bank Board |
OTS | Office of Thrift Supervision |
PAC | political action committee |
PR | public relations |
PSA | Principal Supervisory Agent |
RAP | regulatory accounting principles |
RCA | risk-controlled arbitrage |
REPO | Reverse Purchase Obligations |
RTC | Resolution Trust Corporation |
S&L | savings and loan |
SEC | Securities and Exchange Commission; federal securities law regulator |
TDR | troubled-debt restructuring |
TFR | Thrift Financial Report |
TRO | temporary restraining order |
PREFACE
In 2003, the United States Department of Justice reported that property crimes had continued their trend and fallen to an all-time low. In fact, property crimes have surged to an all-time high since Enron collapsed in late 2001. The reason for the contradiction is that the Justice Department does not count serious property crimes because it excludes white-collar crimes from its data keeping. A wave of frauds led by the men who control large corporations, what I term control fraud, caused the massive losses from property crimes.
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