20 Years Later: Another McCain At Center Of A Bank Collapse and Government Take-Over?
Almost exactly 20 years ago -- in the middle of the saving and loan crisis -- federal regulators seized Lincoln Savings and Loan Association of Irvine, California. The takeover took place more than a year after five United States senators had tried to hold-off a government investigation by the Federal Home Loan Bank Board into Lincoln's risky loan practices regarding home loans.
Those five senators included Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) and the chairman of Lincoln was Charles Keating -- who was not only a top McCain donor but was Cindy McCain's business partner in a real estate deal in Arizona (as I detailed earlier this year). This scandal -- known as The Keating 5 -- remains an albatross for McCain's political career.
As a result of Lincoln's collapse, American taxpayers lost more than $2 billion on the bailout and more than 21,000 mostly elderly investors lost their life savings as a result of bankruptcy of Lincoln's parent company.
In 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee rebuked McCain, finding that he had "exercised poor judgment in intervening with the regulators." The net effect of the actions of the Keating 5 senators was to prevent federal regulations from intervening a year earlier and limiting the amount of exposure to taxpayers and investors.
Why is this relevant?
Well, 20 years later, we're back in the middle of another banking crisis and federal regulators have already begun seizing insolvent banks, and this advisory ran on the wires over the weekend:
Silver State Bancorp (NASDAQ:SSBX), the holding company for Silver State Bank, announced today that Andrew K. McCain submitted his resignation today as a director on the Boards of Directors of Silver State Bancorp and Silver State Bank, citing personal reasons.
Mr. McCain previously served as a director of Choice Bank in Scottsdale, Arizona from 2006 to April 1, 2008 when Choice Bank merged into Silver State Bank. Mr. McCain had been appointed to the Boards of the Company and Silver State Bank in February, 2008 and had served on the Audit Committee.
Andrew is none other than the son of John McCain.
Be mindful that while Silver State Bancorp has not been seized by federal regulators, it isn't hard to conclude that they're near the top of the watch list. Just last week, the investment site The Motley Fool listed Silver State as three bank stocks not to buy right now. Last month, fears were raised in another Motley Fool analysis of underperforming loans that showed Silver State in dire straits, and check out how the stock has done over the past year:
Already this morning, Silver State (SSBX) is down another 10 percent.
So what is going on? Why did McCain leave the bank's board so suddenly?
Here's what my political gut is telling me: It was pointed out above that Andrew McCain served on the bank's audit committee -- the entity which would know most about the bank's financial situation and its portfolio of increasingly bad loans. Is McCain fleeing the bank, knowing that federal regulators are likely to seize it in short order and did not want his name attached to a collapsing bank right in the middle of a presidential race where his dad is the trailing nominee and whose own political history is soiled with unethical actions involving a bank collapse during the last great banking crisis?
Shockingly -- or not -- the traditional media hasn't yet touched this development, that I've seen. But let's keep a very close eye on developments. It might again prove the saying that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree...
Cross-posted at Political Base.
Follow Mark Nickolas on Twitter: www.twitter.com/mnickolas
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This and Gramm's involvement with energy and bank deregulation have been massively overlooked.
When will MSM wake up and report the news that actually has an effect on American citizens???
No they won't
Like father ...
At least he gets it ... dishonest?
After the Keating 5 scandal and McCain choosing an economic advisor (Gramm) whose name has been linked to every financial disaster of late, now the ties with ANOTHER bank failure, and add in the cost of the unnecessary Iraq war which McCain wants to continue indefinately .......... WHY WOULD AMERICANS TRUST McCAIN ON THE ECONOMY?
Persons who are NOT affected by this economic downturn (including John and Cindy) represent a low percentage of the population ..........
The fuit of the poisoned tree....
fruit, even.
fuit = he "was"; or (more appropriately) "has been".
Or French for "flees"...
lmao!
Bet this does not get reported on any news program other than Countdown.
Gee - ya think the MSM MISSED this?
I think not...
Gee- ya think the CORPORATE MEDIA IGNORED this?
Sounds about right.
Gee-ya think the BLOGS CAN PUSH IT ALONG?
Ohhhhhhh yeahhhhhhhhh.
Let's get posting, sparky.
I don't get it.
How is this related to REZCO? I mean- why would the media report something that does not reflect badly on Obama? Golly- isn't he the one we are supposed to be afraid of?
LOL.
My former husband was black. He always said that as a black man he had to work ten times as hard as the white to get to the same place. That criteria also applies to this presidential race. McCain is white so he has to do little. Obama is black and has to prove himself ten times as good, which apparently he seems to be doing!
I completely agree with your former.
It very true that a black man has to work twice as hard as a white man to get to the same place.
(ripocket)
Thank you for your post 'rinpochet'.
If the media were less concerned with Obama's canceled visit to troops in German and more concerned with exposing and publicizing corruption this would be getting the coverage it deserves.
You've got that right.
Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Fear the almighty Oz....
people there's nothing to see here just move alone now.
so if we all @ this story to all msm maybe just maybe it'll get traction.
even though this talking point didn't come from the white house.
Chip off the old block.....
What baffles me is: with all the lies and smear coming from Mccain and his camp questioning Obama's character, WHY Obama's camp/surrogates don't push on some of theembarassing facts in Mccain's past. (In addition to the fact that he has not authorized release of his military file, YET ! Of course we all know, he is an "honorable" man)
Because it is childish and not the style of the Obama camp. They don't have to pay low ball to win.
big strong successful guy beats up on little ole bitter war hero with skin cancer and mental issues
That will not play well besides mccain is a train tsunami self destructing right before our eyes
Amen to that. People here cannot understand, considering Mc Cains past and quite honestly his present why he would even want to bring up the word character. Open the door Mc Cain, Obama and his supporter will walk right in.
Obama 08-16
Obama's whole campaign is about change.
As much as we want him to throw that surprise blow - he WILL not do it. He didn't do it with Hillary, and he beat her...he will CERTAINLY not do it with McCain - the man is self-destructing before our very eyes.
Obama doesn't have to lift a finger.
I love it, it's refreshing, and I hope this is the way campaigns will be run from now on.
While my opinion of John McCain has plummeted, and I believe that corruption has always run rampant around him (he got away with it re: Keating), I need to see more facts about this one. If the son, well I should not say if, is pulling a fast one - that should be reported for the fact that it is news, not because of his father. Unless the father tried to stop any type of investigating of the bank. All of these people are very powerful and very corrupt.
dejtemper You will probably have to do your own homework on this one.
the news media is never going to report this his name is not OBAMA
The idea that ANYONE involved in the Keating 5 scandal has the bawls to run for the office of president is incredible. The fact that he's considered a viable candidate by ANYONE in this country is flat out apalling. I wish there could be an Obama ad that just "revists" the event. People can't be allowed to forget this demonstration of his moral fiber.
He has the balls because he thinks we are all like him. Slow with no memory of what came before!
Do you guys know that the same Big Bankers that tried to take down FDR in '33-'34 are still active players in this latest Scam? Do some digging so you'll wonder why it wasn't in the History Books at school in the '50s - '80s . Many of the USA's biggest corporations were plotting a Fascist Takeover then, and, now they are attempting the same thing! Seems it takes about the same amount of time to let things get so bad for them that they have to invent some new peril to play down their Treasonous activities!
Great reading: "Thy Will Be Done" by Colby and Dennett; "Protecting the Constitution", the autobiography of Senator Sam Ervin.
Brick
Well, well, well......
Neil Bush was a member of the board of directors of Denver-based Silverado Savings and Loan during the 1980s' larger Savings and Loan crisis. As his father was Vice President of the United States, his role in Silverado's failure was a focal point of publicity. According to a piece in Salon, Silverado's collapse cost taxpayers $1 billion.[2
The US Office of Thrift Supervision investigated Silverado's failure and determined that Bush had engaged in numerous "breaches of his fiduciary duties involving multiple conflicts of interest." Although Bush was not indicted on criminal charges, a civil action was brought against him and the other Silverado directors by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; it was eventually settled out of court, with Bush paying $50,000 as part of the settlement, as reported in the Style section of the Washington Post [3].
A Republican fundraiser set up a fund to help defer costs Neil incurred in his S&L dealings
This stuff is thick.
Apple doesn't fall far from the tree now does it?
John will blame the wife he left to marry Cindy, or blame it on the fact he was gone for so many years as a prisoner of war.
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