Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

STATEMENT OF SENATOR DENNIS DECONCINI

JANUARY 5, 1989

Thank you for coming here this morning.

Over the last six months, there has been a great deal of publicity about my involvement with Lincoln Savings and Charles Keating. I have consistently responded to media inquiries and have made myself available to the press. I have spoken with virtually all of the television stations and daily newspapers in the state (many of them repeatedly) and to many radio stations and weekly newspapers. When a member of the Arizona press has sought to speak with me on this subject, I have tried to bé available.

Now that a new year has begun, I have decided to take my case directly to the people of Arizona. I do this not as criticism of the press, but because I do not believe that the facts have been adequately heard and understood.

The allegations made against me--that I have betrayed my public trust--are serious and troubling. I want to say in the strongest possible terms to the people of Arizona that I have never betrayed your trust in me.

As I have repeatedly said over the last several months, if I had known in April of 1987 what I now know, I would never have met with the regulators concerning Lincoln Savings. However, I cannot change the past and it is important that you understand why I did what I did.

Charles Keating and his associates contributed $48,100 for my

2

from his interest in my anti-pornography legislation, and my interest in protecting jobs for Arizona citizens.

connection between funds raised and my actions.

There was no

A lawsuit filed by the Federal Government in September of 1989 indicated that funds raised for political campaigns by Charles Keating may have been illegal. I immediately returned these contributions from my personal funds. While a final determination of their legality had not, and still has not been made, I felt that the serious questions raised demanded that I return these contributions. This followed my past policy and

practice.

Many people have asked me why I interceded with the regulators on behalf of Lincoln Savings in 1987. Let me tell you what I have told them. One of my responsibilities as a U.S. Senator is to look out for my constituents and to see that the Federal bureaucracy is responsive and responsible to their needs. I go to bat for individuals and I go to bat for Arizona employers. In fact, during my 13 years in the Senate, my staff and i have responded to over 75,000 individual cases.

Two of my former key campaign advisers, Ron Ober and Earl Katz, had significant loans with Lincoln Savings. I had no knowledge of their involvement with Lincoln until December of 1988, and I was never informed of the size of the loans until I was asked my a news reporter. As volunteers in my campaign, they had no obligation to tell me anything related to their personal or

3

recognize, however, the appearance of the situation, and I take full responsibility for it.

I

In the case of Lincoln Savings, their parent corporation American Continental had 2,000 Arizona employees and was important to Arizona's economic health. American Continental had approached me and other U.S. Senators with their concerns about unfair treatment by federal regulators in San Francisco. But it was not just American Continental's representations that I relied on. I had information from Alan Greenspan, now the chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, vouching for the soundness of Lincoln. had a letter from the Big Eight accounting firm of Arthur Young charging unfair treatment by the regulators. I have copies of both of these letters available for members of the press. read to you from Mr. Greenspan's letter, in which he states that Lincoln Savings has "transformed itself into a financially strong institution that presents no foreseeable risk to the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation."

Let де

Just recently, William Seidman, current Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (and universally recognized as a very tough regulator), stated that "those two documents I think were pretty extraordinary for senators to receive in terms of convincing them of the possibility that the bureaucracy was out of control." This story appeared in the Arizona press early last month.

My actions were motivated by these letters and my

full responsibility for these actions.

Frankly, they do not differ substantially from actions I have taken on behalf of other Arizonans and Arizona employers.

There is a serious mis-impression that greatly disturbs me. Reports have left the false perception that somehow I and the other Senators were responsible for the delay in closing Lincoln and, therefore, were responsible for the huge cost of Lincoln to the Treasury. Nothing could be further from the truth. I was seeking to expedite the audit, and at no time did I seek a delay. The delays must be laid at the feet of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

During the hearings before the House Banking Committee in November, Edwin Gray, former Chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, was asked whether the Senators had any effect on the investigation of Lincoln. Here is what was said in sworn testimony:

REP. NEAL: I'm just curious. Did the Federal Home Loan Bank Board ever take any action based on the comments or this intervention on the part of the senators?

MR. GRAY: No.

REP. NEAL: Well, that's what I'm having trouble understanding here. If the bank board never took any action, what's the significance of all this? I mean, how can you blame these senators for $2.5 billion worth of damage if the Federal Home Loan Bank Board never took any action based on anything they

5

Mr. Gray had no real response to this second question. My staff has copies of this available if you would like it.

Likewise, when I called government officials early in 1989 I was not seeking a delay. I called to see if the sale of Lincoln could be accomplished. I was acting to prevent a costly government takeover of Lincoln and to preserve Arizona jobs. As I feared, American Continental's bankruptcy has had a highly

negative effect on Arizona's economy.

The cost of the Savings & Loan crisis is outrageous and the American people have a right to be outraged. But in looking for an easy scapegoat, some have tarred me and the other Senators with that responsibility, at least in the case of Lincoln. That just isn't accurate. That just isn't fair.

Let me reiterate that had I known in 1987 what I know now about Charles Keating and Lincoln Savings I would never have met with the regulators. I of course take full responsibility for my actions. But when all is said and done the people of Arizona will see that nothing I did was illegal or unethical. But I cannot wait for that eventuality and that is why I have chosen to aggressively address these many false perceptions.

I will be happy to answer any and all of your questions.

« AnteriorContinuar »