IG: Obama did nothing wrong with ShoreBank
Here is one Republican investigation of Barack Obama that may have hit a dead end. The Obama administration did not inappropriately try to save erstwhile Chicago community lender ShoreBank, concludes an FDIC inspector general report. Steve Daniels of Crain’s Chicago Business summarizes the report, requested by House Republicans who were suspicious that Barack Obama called on Wall Street giants to bail out a bank in the president’s former backyard. FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, in fact, did call Wall Street firms but the “calls were motivated by reducing the potential losses to the FDIC’s insurance fund rather than any political favoritism.”
FDIC released a report last week on the irresponsible mortgage lending that lead to ShoreBank’s demise. The company’s remaining assets were merged into Chicago-based Urban Partnership Bank.