* As you might imagine, there’s been plenty of political howling following this Tribune scoop…
A final report on the failed family bank of Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias will not be released until after the Nov. 2 election, federal regulators said today.
The release of the report before the election could have been another political headache for Giannoulias in the close contest with Republican Mark Kirk. Giannoulias has been on the defensive over his role in loans Broadway Bank made to convicted felons while he was a senior loan officer, as well as other troubled lending that contributed to the bank’s collapse early this year.
The inspector general of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. typically issues a “material loss” report, which details issues in a bank’s failure, about six months after the institution is taken over by the regulators. Broadway, which the FDIC accused of “unsafe banking practices,” was closed on April 23, at a cost to the FDIC of $394.3 million.
When it issued an interim report in August, the inspector general’s office said the final report would be issued on or before its Nov. 14 due date. On Friday, agency lawyer John Davidovich said the report is not expected within the next two weeks.
* From NRSC Chairman Senator John Cornyn…
“President Obama won a historic election by promising to ‘change the way Washington works,’ but just two years later, his administration appears to be directing agencies to delay a report in an attempt to influence a U.S. Senate race.
“This demands answers immediately: Why is the Obama Administration holding back information involving the failure of Alexi Giannoulias’ bank, which cost the taxpayers millions? President Obama should step forward and demonstrate leadership immediately to ensure that this information is in the public domain before Illinois voters cast their ballots.”
* House GOP Whip Eric Cantor even got into the act…
“People are extremely frustrated with Washington and the use of political influence to hide important information from the public is a clear example why.
“Illinois voters should know all of the facts about the candidates before casting their ballots, and the government should not be covering up information to protect political candidates.
“The failure of Alexi Giannoulias’ bank cost the government millions of dollars, and there is no excuse for President Obama and his administration to hide information from Illinois voters. Further, Alexi Giannoulias himself should demand that all information be made public if he has nothing to hide.”
