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On August 20, 2010, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) closed ShoreBank, Chicago, Illinois and appointed the FDIC as receiver. On August 5, 2010, prior to ShoreBank's failure, two members of the Congress requested that we review private-sector efforts to recapitalize ShoreBank and the FDIC's consideration of ShoreBank's application for funds under the United States Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) program. The Members requested that we determine whether the Administration or Members of the Congress exerted political influence over the FDIC associated with efforts to recapitalize ShoreBank.
Because ShoreBank's failure resulted in a material loss to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), we also conducted a material loss review of ShoreBank, as required by section 38(k) of the Federal Deposit Insurance (FDI) Act. Our material loss review of ShoreBank can be found at http://www.fdicig.gov. We note that, in conjunction with other organizational changes made to enhance the FDIC's ability to carry out its new and enhanced responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, the Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection (DSC) became the Division of Risk Management Supervision (RMS) effective February 13, 2011. As a result of the timing of our fieldwork, we refer to DSC throughout the executive summary and the body of this report.
ShoreBank was a $2.2 billion, state-chartered, nonmember bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was established in 1939 as a national bank. In 1973, the Illinois Neighborhood Development Corporation (which later became known as the ShoreBank Corporation (SBC)), acquired control of the bank with the goal of profitably investing in community development activities. A key focus for the new owners was rebuilding their local community that had for a decade been increasingly torn by crime and poverty. The bank converted to a state charter in 1978, and subsequently expanded its operations into Michigan and Ohio. ShoreBank was wholly owned by SBC, its bank holding company located in Chicago, Illinois. Shareholders of SBC consisted of financial institutions, foundations, insurance companies, faith-based institutions, trusts, and individuals. |
ShoreBank's lending strategy focused on providing financing for affordable housing and economic development activities in underserved and economically disadvantaged areas. The institution's customers included small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, churches, and individuals in low- to moderate-income areas, including Chicago's South Side. ShoreBank's asset concentrations and weak risk management practices made the institution vulnerable to a sustained economic downturn in the Chicago real estate market. Ultimately, the losses, provisions, and delinquencies associated with the bank's loan portfolio depleted the institution's earnings and capital, and impaired its liquidity position. The IDFPR closed ShoreBank on August 20, 2010 because the institution did not have sufficient capital to continue normal operations.
The FDIC and IDFPR conducted regular examinations of ShoreBank, as required, and took formal supervisory action to address the bank's deteriorated financial condition in 2009. During 2009 and 2010, the FDIC sought to avoid a difficult and costly failure and took a number of steps to save ShoreBank. Senior Corporation officials closely monitored ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and provided the Chairman with regular updates. As the recapitalization effort faltered, senior Corporation officials, including the Chairman, contacted banks to discuss their interest in investing in ShoreBank. In addition, based on the bank's ability to raise private capital, the FDIC recommended ShoreBank for CDCI funding. At the time, the bank was poorly rated and met four of the Treasury's six required performance ratios. All of these actions, and others taken with regard to supervising and resolving ShoreBank, were consistent with the FDIC's broad statutory mission of minimizing costs to the DIF and in compliance with applicable policies and procedures. Further, nothing came to our attention to suggest that there was any indication of political or inappropriate influence imposed on the FDIC in connection with any ShoreBank-related matters. A more detailed discussion of our results follows. The FDIC's Supervision of ShoreBank: The FDIC and IDFPR conducted regular examinations of ShoreBank as required, made recommendations to address identified weaknesses, and issued a formal enforcement action (consent order) in response to the bank's deteriorated financial condition in 2009. FDIC and IDFPR officials told us that their supervisory efforts were not impacted by political or inappropriate influence. At ShoreBank's request, the FDIC's Chairman and senior FDIC headquarters officials met with ShoreBank officials to discuss the bank's condition, planned corrective actions, and a FDIC draft consent order. The Chairman stated that she was otherwise not involved in the supervisory aspects of the bank. Three former outside FDIC Board Members were also directors or officers of ShoreBank and/or SBC; however, Chicago regional officials told us the former outside Board Members' involvement in ShoreBank did not cause the FDIC to supervise the bank any differently. Recapitalization Effort: In 2009 and 2010, ShoreBank solicited a number of potential investors and raised $146.3 million to strengthen its capital base. We verified that ShoreBank originated the recapitalization effort and determined which investors to contact. We found that FDIC officials closely monitored ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and provided the Chairman with regular updates. As the recapitalization effort faltered, senior Corporation officials, including the Chairman, called institutions to discuss their interest in investing in ShoreBank and subsequently, Urban Partnership, a newly chartered institution created to purchase ShoreBank. Representatives from large banks that we |
interviewed stated that they invested in ShoreBank and Urban Partnership primarily because they believed in ShoreBank's mission and they did not feel pressure to invest as a result of the FDIC Chairman's calls. Community Development Capital Initiative: The recapitalization effort was contingent on ShoreBank being approved for approximately $72 million from Treasury's CDCI program, a Troubled Asset Relief Program initiative intended for Community Development Financial Institutions like ShoreBank. ShoreBank applied for CDCI funds on March 1, 2010. We found that the FDIC followed its standard process and applied the Treasury's viability criteria in reviewing ShoreBank's CDCI application and recommending ShoreBank for funding. ShoreBank was the only composite "5-rated" institution (defined as exhibiting extremely unsafe and unsound practices or conditions) recommended for CDCI funding by the FDIC. The primary consideration for the FDIC's positive recommendation was ShoreBank's ability to raise approximately $150 million in private capital. With this capital, ShoreBank met four of the six required performance ratios specified by the Treasury. Ultimately, a CDCI Interagency Council disagreed with the FDIC's view and concluded that ShoreBank needed additional capital to be viable and recommended against, and ShoreBank did not receive, CDCI funding. Marketing of ShoreBank: The FDIC marketed ShoreBank in preparation for resolution on two occasions—in March and July 2010. The FDIC suspended marketing efforts in May 2010 at the IDFPR's request to allow for consideration of ShoreBank's CDCI application. We found that the FDIC marketed ShoreBank broadly and offered bidders several standard purchase options. Ultimately, six institutions expressed an interest in ShoreBank and only one institution submitted a bid to buy the bank. We concluded that the FDIC followed applicable procedures related to the marketing of ShoreBank. Establishment of Urban Partnership: In August 2010, a group of ShoreBank officers and investor representatives formed a new bank, Urban Partnership, to acquire ShoreBank out of receivership. The organizers of Urban Partnership included several former ShoreBank officers that were installed at ShoreBank during 2010 to replace managers responsible for ShoreBank's troubled condition. We found that the FDIC followed applicable procedures related to granting deposit insurance, assessing Urban Partnership's eligibility to purchase ShoreBank, and approving its proposed senior officers and Directors. The FDIC expressed confidence in Urban Partnership's management team and draft business plan and concluded that Urban Partnership's purchase of ShoreBank would not create an undue risk to the DIF. The FDIC plans to closely monitor Urban Partnership as it would any de novo bank. Resolution of ShoreBank: The IDFPR closed ShoreBank on August 20, 2010, and appointed the FDIC as receiver. On August 27, 2010, the FDIC notified the OIG that the failure cost the DIF an estimated $329.0 million. The FDIC revised the estimated loss amount to $452 million as of January 31, 2011, based on updated asset recovery assumptions and liquidation information. Urban Partnership purchased the majority of ShoreBank's assets and liabilities. The FDIC provided a loss share agreement covering ShoreBank's assets that were purchased by Urban Partnership and provided Urban Partnership with financing to facilitate the transaction. We found that the FDIC applied its least cost test to determine the least-costly resolution of ShoreBank, and performed the test and related analysis in conformance with the applicable guidance. By accepting Urban Partnership's bid to purchase ShoreBank, instead of liquidating the bank, the FDIC determined that it avoided an additional DIF loss of $250.4 million. As part of its resolution costs, the FDIC paid early termination fees to two large banks totaling $74.5 million associated with the unwinding of ShoreBank's repurchase agreements, as required by the FDI Act. These two banks also committed funds to ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and invested in Urban Partnership. |
Extent of Political or Inappropriate Influence: As discussed previously, we performed steps to determine whether there was any evidence of political or inappropriate influence associated with the FDIC's handling of ShoreBank-related matters. These steps included (1) interviewing officials from the FDIC, IDFPR, and other federal banking agencies; (2) interviewing representatives from ShoreBank and selected large bank investors; and (3) reviewing selected FDIC officials' e-mail, telephone records, and calendar entries related to ShoreBank, Administration, or Congressional officials. Nothing came to our attention to suggest that the supervision of ShoreBank, private-sector recapitalization effort, CDCI process, ShoreBank marketing process, Urban Partnership qualification process, or resolution of ShoreBank were subject to any political or inappropriate influence.
After we issued our draft report, RMS and the Division of Resolutions and Receiverships (DRR) provided additional information for our consideration, and we revised our report to reflect this information, as appropriate. Because the report contained no recommendations, a written management response was not required. The Director, RMS, elected to provide a written response on March 7, 2011. In the response, the Director reiterated that the FDIC's actions taken with regard to supervising and resolving ShoreBank were within the FDIC's statutory mission of minimizing costs to the DIF and in compliance with applicable policies and procedures. With regard to the CDCI program, the Director noted that the FDIC followed its standard process and applied the Treasury's viability criteria in reviewing ShoreBank's CDCI application and that DSC conducted a comprehensive analysis to determine a capital level that would be necessary to support lending under worse-than-expected economic scenarios. |
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On August 20, 2010, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) closed ShoreBank, Chicago, Illinois and appointed the FDIC as receiver. On August 5, 2010, prior to ShoreBank's failure, the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee and the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations requested that we review private-sector efforts to recapitalize ShoreBank and the FDIC's consideration of ShoreBank's application for funds under the United States Department of the Treasury's (Treasury) Community Development Capital Initiative (CDCI) program. The Ranking Members requested that we determine whether the Administration or Members of the Congress exerted political influence over the FDIC's associated efforts to recapitalize ShoreBank. Further, as required by section 38(k) of the Federal Deposit Insurance (FDI) Act and amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Financial Reform Act), the OIG conducted and publicly released a material loss review (MLR) of the failure of ShoreBank.1 When the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) incurs a material loss with respect to an insured depository institution, the Inspector General of the appropriate federal banking agency shall prepare a report to that agency outlining the bank's causes of failure and the agency's supervision of the institution. The objectives of this audit were to determine (1) the timeline of events pertaining to the FDIC's supervision and CDCI consideration for ShoreBank; (2) the extent and nature of FDIC involvement in the ShoreBank investor recapitalization effort; (3) whether the FDIC followed its standard process in reviewing ShoreBank's CDCI application and whether ShoreBank met CDCI eligibility 1
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requirements; (4) whether the resolution followed selected FDIC policies and regulations related to marketing the bank, assessing purchaser eligibility, and making a least cost decision; and (5) whether there was any indication of political or inappropriate influence imposed on the FDIC in connection with the supervision, investor recapitalization effort, CDCI consideration, or resolution of ShoreBank. In addition, to address the requirements of the FDI Act, we (6) determined the causes of ShoreBank's failure and the resulting material loss to the DIF and (7) evaluated the FDIC's supervision of ShoreBank, including the FDIC's implementation of the Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) provisions of section 38 of the FDI Act. This report addresses the first five objectives, in response to the Ranking Members' concerns and the MLR report addresses objectives six and seven. Appendix 1 of this report contains details on our objectives, scope, and methodology. Appendix 2 contains a list of acronyms. We note that, in conjunction with other organizational changes made to enhance the FDIC's ability to carry out its new and enhanced responsibilities under the Financial Reform Act, the Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection (DSC) became the Division of Risk Management Supervision (RMS), effective February 13, 2011. As a result of the timing of our fieldwork, we refer to DSC throughout the executive summary and the body of this report. BACKGROUNDShoreBank was a $2.2 billion, state-chartered, nonmember bank headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The institution was established in 1939 as a national bank. In 1973, the Illinois Neighborhood Development Corporation (which later became known as the ShoreBank Corporation (SBC)), acquired control of the bank with the goal of profitably investing in community development activities. A key focus for the new owners was rebuilding their local community that had for a decade been increasingly torn by crime and poverty. The bank converted to a state charter in 1978, and subsequently expanded operations into Michigan and Ohio. ShoreBank was wholly owned by SBC, a bank holding company located in Chicago, Illinois. Shareholders of SBC consisted of financial institutions, foundations, insurance companies, faith-based institutions, trusts, and individuals. ShoreBank and SBC's Boards of Directors or officers were comprised of community organizers and former federal bank regulators, three of whom were former outside members of the FDIC's Board of Directors.2 2
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ShoreBank's lending strategy focused on providing financing for affordable housing and economic development activities in underserved and economically disadvantaged areas. The institution's customers included small businesses, not-for-profit organizations, churches, and individuals in low- to moderate-income areas, including Chicago's South Side. ShoreBank was certified by the Treasury's Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Fund and was the largest CDFI in the United States at the time of its failure.3 ShoreBank failed due to insolvency because its Board and management did not implement adequate risk management practices. In particular, ShoreBank's management (1) did not effectively manage the risks associated with its concentrations in Commercial Real Estate and Acquisition, Development, and Construction loans; (2) employed poor underwriting and credit administration practices; and (3) supported loan growth and ongoing operations with non-core funding sources. ShoreBank's asset concentrations and weak risk management practices made the institution vulnerable to a sustained economic downturn in the Chicago real estate market. Deterioration in the bank's loan portfolio began in 2007 and accelerated throughout 2008 and 2009. Ultimately, the losses, provisions, and delinquencies associated with the bank's loan portfolio depleted the institution's earnings and capital, and impaired its liquidity position. The IDFPR closed ShoreBank on August 20, 2010 because the institution did not have sufficient capital to continue normal operations. Urban Partnership Bank (Urban Partnership) acquired ShoreBank out of receivership and was created by investors on August 19, 2010 for the sole purpose of acquiring the assets and assuming the liabilities of ShoreBank. Community Development Capital Initiative Program In October 2009, President Obama announced a new Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) initiative, known as the CDCI Program, and on February 3, 2010, the Treasury announced the program's final viability criteria. Through this program, CDFI banks, thrifts, and credit unions—that were certified by the Treasury as targeting more than 60 percent of their small business lending and other economic development activities to underserved communities—were eligible to receive capital investments from the Treasury. For CDFIs that might not otherwise be recommended for participation by their regulator, the Treasury offered matching capital investments, up to 5 percent of an institution's risk-weighted assets, against private investments on a dollar-for-dollar basis, provided that the combined amount would return the institution to a viable position. Through the CDCI Program, institutions submitted applications to the FDIC or other appropriate federal banking agency,4 which then made recommendations to the Treasury about whether to approve or deny funding requests. In 3
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certain instances, applications were also reviewed by a CDCI Interagency Council, which was comprised of representatives from the FDIC, FRB, OCC, and OTS. The Council made recommendations to the Treasury regarding a bank's eligibility for CDCI funds. The Treasury determined the final eligibility and allocations for interested parties. AUDIT RESULTSThe FDIC and IDFPR conducted regular examinations of ShoreBank, as required, and took formal supervisory action to address the bank's deteriorated financial condition in 2009. During 2009 and 2010, the FDIC sought to avoid a difficult and costly failure and took a number of steps to save ShoreBank. Senior Corporation officials closely monitored ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and provided the Chairman with regular updates. As the recapitalization effort faltered, senior Corporation officials, including the Chairman, contacted banks to discuss their interest in investing in ShoreBank. In addition, based on the bank's ability to raise private capital, the FDIC recommended ShoreBank for CDCI funding. At the time, the bank was poorly rated and met four of the Treasury's six required performance ratios. All of these actions, and others taken with regard to supervising and resolving ShoreBank, were consistent with the FDIC's broad statutory mission of minimizing costs to the DIF and in compliance with applicable policies and procedures. Further, nothing came to our attention to suggest that there was any indication of political or inappropriate influence imposed on the FDIC in connection with any ShoreBank-related matters. The FDIC's Supervision of ShoreBankThe FDIC and IDFPR conducted regular examinations of ShoreBank, as required.5 FDIC and IDFPR officials told us that their supervisory efforts were not impacted by political or inappropriate influence. At ShoreBank's request, the FDIC's Chairman and senior FDIC headquarters officials met with ShoreBank officials to discuss the bank's condition, planned corrective actions, and an FDIC draft enforcement action (consent order). The Chairman stated that she was otherwise not involved in the supervisory aspects of the bank. Three former outside FDIC Board Members were also directors or officers for ShoreBank and/or SBC; however, Chicago regional officials told us the former outside Board Members' involvement in ShoreBank did not cause the FDIC to supervise the bank any differently. We 4
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did not identify evidence of political or inappropriate influence in connection with the FDIC's supervision of ShoreBank. Table 1 presents a timeline of key events regarding the FDIC's supervision of ShoreBank between 2008 and 2010 and illustrates the deterioration of the bank.
The FDIC, in conjunction with the IDFPR, provided ongoing supervisory oversight of ShoreBank through risk management examinations, a visitation, and offsite monitoring efforts. Examinations were conducted in compliance with the required statutory examination schedule, and the FDIC and IDFPR made recommendations for improvement and issued a formal consent order in July 2009, in response to the bank's deteriorated financial condition. FDIC and IDFPR examiners stated that their supervisory efforts were not impacted by political or inappropriate influence from FDIC officials or officials outside of the FDIC. Further, Chicago regional officials stated that their supervisory efforts were not impacted by former outside FDIC Board members who were associated with ShoreBank and we noted no evidence of such. The FDIC's Chairman and senior FDIC headquarters officials participated in a May 8, 2009 meeting requested by ShoreBank. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss ShoreBank's plans to address deficiencies identified in the November 2008 joint examination and a proposed consent order. ShoreBank representatives discussed the harshness of the proposed consent order and requested that the FDIC instead consider imposing a non-public informal enforcement action. The FDIC did not acquiesce and continued to pursue and ultimately issued a formal enforcement action. As discussed in greater detail in our MLR report, the FDIC and the IDFPR decided not to include a capital maintenance provision in 5
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the original consent order.6 A senior DSC official stated that ShoreBank representatives did not request that the capital provision be removed from the consent order at the May 8, 2009 meeting.7 In addition, the Chairman stated that she was not involved in deciding whether to include a capital maintenance provision in the consent order. The Chairman also stated that she was not involved in any other supervisory matters pertaining to ShoreBank, other than her participation in the May 8, 2009 meeting. For example, she stated that she was not involved in a DSC decision to extend ShoreBank's closure date by 90 days when the bank was Critically Undercapitalized or in DSC's decision to recommend ShoreBank for CDCI funds, as discussed later in this report. Our review of FDIC officials' e-mail, phone logs, and e-calendar events, and performance of other audit procedures did not identify any indication that the Chairman was involved in these decisions. Officials in DSC and the Division of Resolutions and Receiverships (DRR) told us that they kept the Chairman apprised of ShoreBank's supervision and resolution activities as they would for any troubled institution. The FDIC's Vice Chairman received occasional briefings from FDIC staff about ShoreBank-related supervision and resolution activities. The Vice Chairman stated that he was otherwise not involved in any supervisory or resolution efforts regarding ShoreBank. Finally, as noted previously, three former outside FDIC Board Members served as either board members or officials of ShoreBank and/or SBC.8 Officials from the Chicago Regional Office told us that the former outside Board Members' involvement in ShoreBank and SBC did not affect the FDIC's supervision of ShoreBank, and nothing came to our attention during our review to suggest otherwise. ShoreBank's Recapitalization EffortIn 2009 and 2010, ShoreBank solicited a number of potential investors and raised $146.3 million to strengthen its capital base. We verified that ShoreBank originated the recapitalization effort and determined which investors to contact. We found that FDIC officials closely monitored ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and provided the Chairman with regular updates. As the recapitalization effort faltered, senior Corporation officials, including the Chairman, called institutions to discuss their interest in investing in ShoreBank and subsequently, Urban Partnership, a newly chartered institution created to purchase ShoreBank. Representatives from large investors that we interviewed stated that they invested in ShoreBank and Urban Partnership primarily because they believed in ShoreBank's mission and they did not feel pressure to invest as a result of the FDIC 6
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Chairman's calls. A state agency, the Illinois Finance Authority (IFA), also met with the FDIC and the IDFPR to discuss a separate recapitalization effort that never materialized. We did not identify evidence of political or inappropriate influence in connection with the FDIC's activities surrounding ShoreBank's recapitalization effort. ShoreBank's Efforts to Raise Capital In the first quarter of 2009, ShoreBank initiated an effort to raise capital by issuing shares of common stock to private investors. ShoreBank initially estimated its capital needs to be around $20 million. As ShoreBank's asset quality and financial situation continued to deteriorate in 2009 and 2010, ShoreBank officials determined that the bank's capital needs were greater. During July 2009, ShoreBank estimated that it needed approximately $50 to $60 million and by the end of 2009, its estimate increased to $80 to 100 million. In the first quarter of 2010, ShoreBank believed it needed even more capital and later concluded that it would attempt to raise $125 million in order to qualify for CDCI funds. During the third quarter of 2009, ShoreBank created a committee to develop a capital campaign and identify prospective investors. ShoreBank asked its officers and directors to invest in ShoreBank and contacted several large banks and foundations about investing in the bank. Several of these investors conducted due diligence at ShoreBank in September and October 2009. In the first quarter of 2010, ShoreBank engaged a consulting firm that assisted the bank in raising capital and identified and contacted a number of large investors.9 The consultant contacted the FDIC's Chairman to request her assistance with the effort. The Chairman declined the consultant's request. The consultant and another SBC officer—both former outside FDIC Board members—also met with the FDIC's Vice Chairman in March 2010 to provide a status briefing on ShoreBank's capital raising efforts. By March 2010, ShoreBank had firm funding commitments or expressions of interest from a number of large banks and foundations and by May 2010 had raised $146.3 million from 53 investors, including financial institutions, foundations, and individuals. The funds were held in escrow and contingent upon ShoreBank's receipt of approximately $72 million in CDCI funds, as discussed later in this report. We confirmed with a senior ShoreBank officer and FDIC officials that ShoreBank initiated the recapitalization effort and decided which investors to contact. Although ShoreBank obtained significant capital commitments from investors, ShoreBank ultimately did not receive CDCI funds, as some members of the CDCI Council believed the bank needed significantly more capital to be viable. As a result, the investors that pledged funds to ShoreBank were entitled to reclaim their capital commitments. As discussed later in this report, the vast majority of funds that were committed to ShoreBank were subsequently invested in Urban Partnership. 7
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FDIC Involvement in ShoreBank's Efforts to Raise Capital FDIC regional and headquarters officials closely monitored ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and received status updates from ShoreBank officials. In May 2010, FDIC officials determined that ShoreBank's recapitalization effort was not progressing sufficiently and there were no potential purchasers for the bank. A senior DRR official requested that the Chairman become involved by contacting potential investors that the bank had identified. The Chairman indicated that she avoided becoming involved in the recapitalization effort until requested to do so by staff. The Chairman was concerned that ShoreBank would be a costly failure and difficult to liquidate. These concerns prompted the Chairman to call the Chief Executive Officers (CEO) of several of the large institutions that ShoreBank had identified as potential investors to explain ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and financial situation, and to request that they consider making an investment. The Chairman also informed some of the large institutions that their share of losses to the DIF resulting from a ShoreBank failure would likely exceed their portion of a capital investment to save ShoreBank. The Chairman stated that she was very direct in these phone calls and wanted to make sure the institutions understood ShoreBank's situation. However, she also stated that it was each institution's decision as to whether it wanted to invest in the bank. The Chairman also contacted some institutions a second time to discuss whether they would transfer their capital commitments from ShoreBank to Urban Partnership. The Chairman estimated that, in the past, she made similar calls to banks to discuss their interest in investing in six to seven other financially distressed institutions, including calls on behalf of a small savings and loan association that had a mission similar to ShoreBank's. The Chairman stated that she became involved in ShoreBank's recapitalization effort at DRR's request and that her objective in contacting potential investors was to protect the DIF from losses. The Chairman stated that her involvement was not politically motivated and she did not receive requests from Members of Congress or the Administration to assist ShoreBank. The Chairman and the FDIC are responsible for meeting statutory provisions designed to protect the DIF and required to resolve failed financial institutions in a manner that results in the least possible cost to the FDIC. Several statutory provisions in title 12 of the United States Code (U.S.C.) provide the FDIC's Chairman with broad authority to protect the DIF. These provisions are not mandatory but provide the Chairman with the discretion regarding when and what types of action to take to prevent a bank's default and to limit losses. A senior DSC official also called potential investors to discuss how much capital ShoreBank needed, regulatory matters associated with the bank, and to answer questions about the recapitalization process. This official stated that he did not suggest to any potential investors how much money to invest in ShoreBank. This official also said that it is not unprecedented for the Chairman or other FDIC officials to call institutions about investing in a bank that is financially distressed, especially when the bank's circumstances are elevated to FDIC senior officials, as was the case with ShoreBank. 8
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Rationale for Large Banks Investing in ShoreBank We contacted six large banks that made capital commitments to ShoreBank and subsequently invested in Urban Partnership. The banks told us that they made these capital commitments for several reasons:
A representative from one bank said that the bank had initially decided against investing in both ShoreBank and Urban Partnership because it wanted to focus its resources on a pending merger and integration with another large bank, but reconsidered and decided to invest after the bank's CEO received phone calls from and discussed the ShoreBank and Urban Partnership investments with the FDIC's Chairman. Senior staff from all of the banks that we contacted stated that they did not feel pressure to invest in ShoreBank as a result of the FDIC's contact, nor did they have any reason to believe that the FDIC's involvement in ShoreBank or Urban Partnership's recapitalization efforts were motivated by political or inappropriate influence. Senior staff from the banks also stated that FDIC officials, including the Chairman, had called the banks in the past about investing in other distressed institutions. Illinois Finance Authority Effort to Recapitalize ShoreBank On January 5, 2010, FDIC and IDFPR officials participated in a meeting with ShoreBank and State of Illinois officials. A representative for the IFA10 provided participants with a strategy designed to save the bank, which was reportedly backed by the Governor of Illinois and a United States Senator from Illinois. The strategy involved issuing up to $75 million in bonds and using the proceeds to bolster ShoreBank's capital base. According to DSC's meeting notes, the Chicago Regional Office stated that the FDIC would continue to follow its normal regulatory protocols in supervising ShoreBank, regardless of the actions of the IFA. A Chicago regional official told us that the IFA recapitalization effort never materialized. 9
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Community Development Capital Initiative ProgramThe recapitalization effort was contingent on ShoreBank being approved for approximately $72 million from the Treasury's CDCI program. ShoreBank applied for CDCI funds on March 1, 2010. We found that the FDIC followed its standard process and applied the Treasury's viability criteria in reviewing ShoreBank's CDCI application and recommending ShoreBank for funding. ShoreBank was the only composite "5-rated" institution (defined as exhibiting extremely unsafe and unsound practices or conditions) that FDIC recommended for CDCI funding. The primary consideration for the FDIC's positive recommendation was ShoreBank's ability to raise approximately $150 million in private capital. With this capital, ShoreBank met four of the six required performance ratios specified by the Treasury. Ultimately, the CDCI Interagency Council disagreed with the FDIC's view and concluded that ShoreBank needed additional capital to be viable and recommended against, and ShoreBank did not receive, CDCI funding. We did not identify evidence of political or inappropriate influence in connection with the FDIC's review of ShoreBank's CDCI application. Table 2 shows the timeline of events regarding ShoreBank's CDCI application.
The CDCI Program and Treasury's Viability Criteria The CDCI program was designed to support the continued viability, growth and expansion of CDFI-certified depository institutions. As discussed earlier, ShoreBank was the largest CDFI. The Treasury established CDCI viability criteria which included an institution's composite examination ratings, CRA rating, and six selected performance ratios. The ratios related to the institution's classified assets, non-performing loans, and construction and development loan concentrations, and included three standard capital ratios—Tier 1 Risk-Based Capital, 10
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Tier 1 Leverage Capital, and Total Risk-Based Capital Ratios. The Treasury specified acceptable levels for three of the performance ratios and DSC informed us that the capital ratios needed to meet the Well Capitalized criteria for Prompt Corrective Action purposes. The FDIC used a Case Decision Memo to record its findings related to: ShoreBank's CAMELS and CRA ratings, the six performance ratios, ShoreBank's viability, the FDIC's supervisory strategy, and relevant enforcement actions. The FDIC also included narrative comments in the document to support its recommendation. The Treasury required the recommendation of each institution's primary federal regulator in determining the institution's eligibility for CDCI funds. The eligibility recommendation was based on an assessment of the overall strength and viability of the institution, considering the criteria previously described. In some cases, the primary federal regulator recommended CDCI funds for institutions without considering potential funds received under the CDCI program; these institutions were deemed to be viable on a stand-alone basis. In other cases, the primary federal regulator recommended that the applicant raise additional capital from third parties prior to receiving funds under the CDCI program. In these cases, the primary federal regulator performed a pro-forma capital analysis, which considered third-party and the Treasury's matching capital investments. Institutions that relied upon private capital and CDCI funds to be viable were reviewed by the CDCI Interagency Council. The FDIC's Review of ShoreBank's CDCI Application ShoreBank applied for CDCI funds on March 1, 2010 and requested the maximum allowable funding amount.11 The application was filed with the Chicago Regional Office pursuant to the FDIC's established process for reviewing CDCI applications. Chicago regional staff evaluated ShoreBank on the basis of the capital it had raised and assuming the receipt of CDCI funds. ShoreBank raised $146.3 million in capital from investors, which was in escrow and contingent upon the bank's receipt of CDCI funds. The Chicago Regional Office reviewed ShoreBank's application and relied upon the Treasury's guidance to determine whether ShoreBank qualified for CDCI funds. The Chicago Regional Office finalized the Case Decision Memo for ShoreBank on May 19, 2010 and determined that ShoreBank met four of the Treasury's six performance ratios based upon the private capital that ShoreBank had raised and the requested CDCI funds.12 Chicago regional staff also performed an analysis to estimate how much capital ShoreBank needed to be considered Well Capitalized. According to this analysis, ShoreBank needed between $175 and $202 million to be Well Capitalized, based on its March 31, 2010 financial data. This analysis considered loan losses that ShoreBank already recognized as well as 11
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future estimated loan losses and other performance factors over a 2-year period. DSC staff told us that the assumptions used to estimate future losses and other performance factors were consistent with those used by the banking agencies in completing the 2009 Supervisory Capital Assessment Program.13 On May 19, 2010, the Chicago Regional Office forwarded ShoreBank's application to DSC headquarters for additional consideration and recommended the bank for funding contingent upon:
DSC headquarters officials reviewed the Chicago Regional Office's recommendation for the purpose of determining whether to forward the application to the CDCI Interagency Council for consideration. DSC officials told us that their primary reason for recommending ShoreBank for CDCI funding was the bank's assessed viability subject to its ability to raise private capital in combination with the receipt of CDCI funds, an improved management team, and a refocused business plan. These officials believed that ShoreBank would have been viable had it received CDCI funding and capital from third-party investors; therefore, the FDIC forwarded ShoreBank's application to the CDCI Interagency Council for consideration, as called for by the Treasury's guidelines. The CDCI Interagency Council's Review of ShoreBank's CDCI Application The CDCI Interagency Council considered ShoreBank's CDCI application at three meetings between May and June 2010 (see Table 2). The FDIC presented a detailed analysis of ShoreBank's capital levels and asset quality and answered questions raised by the Council members. Council members' discussions focused on ShoreBank's capital needs and viability. While the FDIC provided an assessment showing that ShoreBank needed between $175 and $202 million to be viable, based on the capital analysis described above, the FRB and OCC decided that the bank needed at least $100 million more in capital than what the FDIC estimated in order to recommend ShoreBank for CDCI funding. The FRB, OCC, and OTS did not perform detailed analyses to estimate ShoreBank's capital needs. Ultimately, the FDIC's Council member voted in favor of, and the FRB, OTS, and OCC Council members voted against ShoreBank's receipt of CDCI funds. The FDIC's Council member voted in favor of CDCI funds because ShoreBank would have received $146.3 million from committed investors and $71.6 million from the Treasury ($217.9 million in total) had ShoreBank been approved for CDCI funds. This amount 12
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exceeded the FDIC's capital needs estimate, and the FDIC's Council member believed that ShoreBank would have been viable had it received those funds. Further, the FDIC's Council member believed that the investors that committed capital to ShoreBank would have provided the bank with additional capital, if needed. This Council member believed ShoreBank was unique because the bank successfully raised a significant amount of capital to be eligible for CDCI funds and made significant changes to its management team and board. The FDIC's Council member believed that ShoreBank's new management team and board would have successfully managed the bank. Due to continued questions about ShoreBank's viability and capital needs, the FRB, OCC, and OTS Council members voted against CDCI funding. We contacted four Council members who represented the FRB, OCC, and OTS and they provided the following reasons for not recommending ShoreBank for CDCI funds:
Based on the CDCI Interagency Council vote, ShoreBank's CDCI application was not forwarded to the Treasury for funding consideration and ShoreBank did not receive CDCI funds. The FDIC's Review of All CDCI Applications We also evaluated the FDIC's review of other CDCI applications to provide perspective on how ShoreBank's application was handled. During 2010, the FDIC's regional offices reviewed 64 CDCI applications and made recommendations for or against providing funding to each applicant. If the regional office recommended CDCI funding, the FDIC's DSC headquarters office reviewed the application and made the final funding recommendation to the Treasury or the CDCI Interagency Council, as appropriate. If the regional office did not recommend CDCI funding, the related application did not receive any further FDIC review and was not forwarded to the Treasury or the CDCI Interagency Council for consideration. 13
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The FDIC's regional offices forwarded 14 of the 64 CDCI applications to DSC headquarters for further consideration. The 14 applicants had the following composite ratings at the time they submitted their applications:
ShoreBank was the only bank that was considered for CDCI funds based on a combination of privately raised capital and the requested CDCI funds. The other 13 banks were evaluated on a stand-alone basis. As a result, we compared the number of performance ratios that ShoreBank met after considering the receipt of private capital and CDCI funds to the number of performance ratios that the other 13 banks met on a standalone basis. Information about the number of performance ratios met for the 14 applications considered by DSC headquarters follows:
The FDIC recommended that Treasury provide CDCI funding for 12 institutions, with 11 of the recommendations requiring review by the CDCI Interagency Council. The CDCI Interagency Council recommended CDCI funding for all of the banks except for ShoreBank. Ultimately, Treasury approved 10 of the 12 FDIC-recommended institutions to receive CDCI funds. The FDIC's regional offices did not recommend CDCI funding for the remaining 50 applicants. These applications were not forwarded to DSC headquarters or the Treasury for consideration. Table 3 provides an overview of the CAMELS composite ratings of the banks for which the regional offices did not recommend funding. DSC officials told us that these institutions did not meet the viability criteria on a stand-alone basis and had not demonstrated the ability to raise private capital in order to be evaluated for viability post-receipt of CDCI funding.
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Political or Inappropriate Influence Related to ShoreBank's CDCI Application We contacted four CDCI Interagency Council members who represented the FRB, OCC, and OTS to inquire whether ShoreBank's CDCI application received preferential treatment or if politics played a role in any decisions regarding ShoreBank's application for CDCI funds. The Council members indicated that ShoreBank's CDCI application process was similar to that followed for other CDCI applicants but believed that ShoreBank was an "outlier," as it was the only composite "5-rated" institution to receive consideration by the CDCI Interagency Council. All four Council members said that they did not make any decisions regarding ShoreBank's CDCI application based on any type of political influence nor were they aware of anyone else inside or outside of the FDIC who did so. Two Council members expressed surprise over the FDIC's strong support of ShoreBank's CDCI application, given the bank's weak financial condition and prospects for viability even after considering proposed capital infusions. In this regard, one Council member stated that the Council was subject to "abnormally high pressure" from the FDIC to approve ShoreBank for CDCI funding. The Council member commented on the FDIC's strong support of ShoreBank's CDCI application and noted that the FDIC presented the application to the CDCI Interagency Council at three Council meetings and "continued to argue for its approval even after it had been rejected multiple times by other Council members." The Council member stated that while the pressure to approve CDCI funding for ShoreBank was unusual, there was no indication that the FDIC's actions were politically motivated. According to a Treasury official responsible for administering the CDCI program, at least one other CDCI application was considered at three or even four CDCI Interagency Council meetings, and the Council considered ShoreBank's CDCI application in a similar fashion to the way it considered other CDCI applications. This official also stated that ShoreBank was unique because it raised funds from private investors. In addition, we interviewed relevant FDIC officials and reviewed their e-mail, phone logs, and e-calendar events to determine whether FDIC officials were subject to political or inappropriate influence to take any actions regarding ShoreBank's CDCI application. We did not identify any evidence of such influence in connection with ShoreBank's CDCI application. Marketing of ShoreBank as a Failed Bank Resolution TransactionThe FDIC marketed ShoreBank in preparation for resolution on two occasions—in March and July 2010. We found that the FDIC marketed ShoreBank broadly and offered bidders several standard purchase options. Only six institutions expressed an interest in ShoreBank, and Urban Partnership was the only institution that submitted a bid to purchase the bank. We concluded that the FDIC followed applicable procedures related to marketing ShoreBank 15
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and did not identify evidence of political or inappropriate influence in connection with the FDIC's marketing efforts. The overall goal of marketing an institution is to develop and analyze a variety of marketing options to arrive at a strategy that encourages competition among potential acquirers and results in the least-costly resolution of the failing institution. DRR's Resolutions Policy Manual outlines the procedures that the FDIC should follow when marketing a failing institution.14 Prior to ShoreBank's two marketing efforts, the FDIC used a standard process to identify potential bidders that met certain eligibility criteria. These criteria were approved by FDIC senior management and consisted of institutions with the following characteristics:
Table 4 provides an overview of the timeline of events related to the FDIC's marketing of ShoreBank. 16
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* IntraLinks is a secure Web site that the FDIC uses to post documents and exchange comments with a specific group of internal and external users. The site contained key financial information about ShoreBank, details of the proposed transaction, and other pertinent information for potential bidders. The FDIC's Marketing Efforts As part of the first marketing effort, on February 17, 2010, the FDIC identified 212 institutions that met the eligibility criteria to purchase ShoreBank. Seventy-two of these institutions were located in the Chicago metropolitan area, Illinois, and contiguous states to Illinois; the remaining 140 institutions were located in non-contiguous states, according to DRR. In an effort to prevent media leaks regarding ShoreBank's resolution, DRR informed us that the FDIC only marketed ShoreBank to the 72 institutions that were geographically closer to the bank. The FDIC notified the 72 eligible bidders via e-mail on March 30, 2010, of an opportunity to purchase a bank in the State of Illinois with $2.2 billion in assets, and that interested parties needed to respond via e-mail to gain access to the FDIC's IntraLinks site in order to view additional information about the bank. The FDIC offered ShoreBank under five different options, all of which constituted standard FDIC offerings as shown in Table 5. 17
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* The FDIC no longer offers transaction number 5 on its own; this transaction is now offered as a part of transaction number 4 - Purchase and Assumption Agreement with Optional Loan Pools. On May 3, 2010, the FDIC notified all of the bidders that were eligible to purchase another failing institution in the Chicago area, of the opportunity to also purchase ShoreBank, 18
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resulting in an increase in the number of potential bidders that could purchase ShoreBank.17 Later in May 2010, the FDIC notified two additional banks about the ShoreBank acquisition opportunity because the FDIC believed these banks may have been interested in ShoreBank. During the first marketing effort, four banks expressed an interest in ShoreBank, two banks conducted due diligence, but none submitted a bid because of ShoreBank's risk profile and geographic location. ShoreBank's recapitalization effort was underway during the first marketing effort, and due to its success, the IDFPR asked the FDIC to halt the ShoreBank marketing effort, which the FDIC did on May 17, 2010.18 The FDIC initiated the second marketing effort in July 2010, after ShoreBank did not receive CDCI funds and it became apparent that ShoreBank would be closed. On June 17, 2010, the FDIC identified 259 institutions that met the eligibility criteria and notified all of these institutions of the acquisition opportunity, via e-mail on July 14, 2010. ShoreBank was offered as a Whole Bank Purchase and Assumption Agreement with or without loss share provisions. During the second marketing effort, one bank expressed an interest in submitting a nonconforming bid for ShoreBank's Treasury Management Business, which oversaw the bank's relationship-based deposits. FDIC staff spoke to the bank about this potential bid but the bank's Board of Directors did not allow the bank to submit a bid. Ultimately, Urban Partnership submitted the only bid to purchase ShoreBank. FDIC management stated that ShoreBank had a very specialized market and was the largest CDFI at the time, making it difficult to interest potential bidders. Further, the other CDFIs in existence at the time did not meet the bid list criteria to purchase ShoreBank, as they were not sufficiently large or healthy. Finally, ShoreBank was offered at the same time as eight other banks in the Chicago region, all of which were financially sounder than ShoreBank. Establishment of Urban PartnershipUrban Partnership was formed in August 2010 to acquire ShoreBank out of receivership. The organizers of Urban Partnership included several former ShoreBank officers that were installed at ShoreBank during 2010 to replace managers responsible for ShoreBank's troubled condition. We found that the FDIC followed applicable procedures related to granting deposit insurance to Urban Partnership, assessing its eligibility to purchase ShoreBank, and approving its proposed senior officers and Directors. The FDIC expressed confidence in 19
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Urban Partnership's management team and proposed business plan19 and concluded that Urban Partnership's purchase of ShoreBank would not create an undue risk to the DIF. The FDIC plans to closely monitor Urban Partnership as it would any de novo bank. We did not identify evidence of political or inappropriate influence in connection with the FDIC's approval of Urban Partnership's deposit insurance application or the assessment of its qualification to purchase ShoreBank. Organization of Urban Partnership Once it became apparent that ShoreBank would not receive CDCI funds and the bank would be closed, recently installed ShoreBank officers formed a new bank, Urban Partnership, to acquire ShoreBank. This initiative required Urban Partnership to quickly obtain a state nonmember bank charter from the IDFPR, deposit insurance from the FDIC, and agreement from several of the large ShoreBank investors to allow their capital commitments to transfer to Urban Partnership. Table 6 shows key events regarding the formation of Urban Partnership.
* Urban Partnership submitted its bid to purchase ShoreBank on August 18, 2010, 1 day after the due date for bid applications. DRR extended the due date at Urban Partnership's request, which allowed the bank to resolve an administrative issue related to one of its investors. An FDIC official estimated that DRR extends the due date 25-30 percent of the time, often to accommodate the receipt of a bid that may be delayed for administrative or logistical reasons. Urban Partnership is an FDIC-insured, state nonmember, community-development bank. Similar to ShoreBank, Urban Partnership's mission includes promoting economic and environmental sustainability and serving the needs of low- and moderate-income groups in urban Chicago, Illinois; Cleveland, Ohio; and Detroit, Michigan. No Federal or state 20
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regulators opposed the creation of Urban Partnership. Urban Partnership applied through the Treasury for its CDFI designation in November 2010. Urban Partnership is wholly owned by financial institutions (including banks, bank holding companies, thrift holding companies, and their affiliates), foundations, other companies, and individuals that sought to continue ShoreBank's mission. Urban Partnership was organized so that no one investor would own a controlling interest in the bank. Each investor's ownership is limited to 4.9 percent of the voting shares of the bank and 14.9 percent of the bank's total equity.20> Twenty-two of the 53 investors that pledged funds to ShoreBank transferred their investments to Urban Partnership. Of the $146 million raised by ShoreBank, $139 million was invested in Urban Partnership. Certain investors withdrew the funds that they had placed in escrow for the recapitalization effort because they were officers or employees of ShoreBank but did not transition to Urban Partnership, to avoid a conflict of interest, or because of uncertainty regarding whether Urban Partnership would continue certain lending programs. The FDIC's Review of Urban Partnership's Deposit Insurance Application The FDIC is charged by statute with the responsibility of acting on applications for federal deposit insurance by all depository institutions. In considering applications for deposit insurance, the FDIC must evaluate each application in relation to seven statutory factors prescribed in section 6 of the FDI Act (12 U.S.C. § 1816). DSC evaluated Urban Partnership's deposit insurance application in relation to the following seven statutory factors: (1) the depository institution's financial history and condition; (2) the adequacy of the capital structure; (3) future earnings prospects; (4) the general character and fitness of management; (5) the risk presented to the DIF; (6) the convenience and needs of the community to be served; and (7) whether the institution's corporate powers are consistent with the purposes of the FDI Act. DSC determined that Urban Partnership met the seven statutory factors and was therefore eligible to receive deposit insurance. We reviewed relevant documentation and interviewed FDIC officials who processed Urban Partnership's deposit insurance application. As shown in Table 6, Urban Partnership applied for deposit insurance on August 10, 2010, and DSC approved the bank for deposit insurance 9 days later, on August 19, 2010. DSC staff told us that they followed their normal process for reviewing and processing Urban Partnership's deposit insurance application, except the process was expedited and the FDIC assigned more people to this task in order to complete the review timely. 21
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Given that Urban Partnership was a proposed depository institution formed for the sole purpose of acquiring the assets and assuming the liabilities of ShoreBank, an insured institution in default, the FDIC employed procedures consistent with those outlined in the FDIC's November 26, 2008 Press Release FDIC Expands Bidder List for Troubled Institutions. The Press Release alerted the industry that: "…in light of the time constraints involved with these types of transactions and consistent with the FDIC's Statement of Policy on Applications for Deposit Insurance, the FDIC may apply modified deposit insurance application processes. The FDIC will consider abbreviated information submissions and applications, and may issue conditional approval for Deposit Insurance, in order to qualify interested parties for the FDIC's failing institution bidders list." Consistent with the above guidance, the FDIC followed approved procedures to resolve the statutory factors contained in section 6 of the FDI Act in reaching its decision to grant Urban Partnership deposit insurance. The FDIC approved Urban Partnership's deposit insurance application in time for Urban Partnership to submit a bid to purchase ShoreBank. A senior DSC official stated that most of the capital for Urban Partnership came from banks or bank holding companies well-known to the FDIC, and the FDIC had vetted Urban Partnership's key management officials. Commensurate with FDIC guidance on de novo institutions,21 the FDIC plans to (1) conduct a visitation of Urban Partnership within 6 months of its inception and annual examinations every year for its first 7 years of operations; (2) monitor changes in Urban Partnership's management; (3) review applicable financial data; and (4) approve Urban Partnership's proposed business plan and ensure the bank is in compliance with the plan. Urban Partnership's Management Structure Urban Partnership was established by ShoreBank senior officers or Directors who were hired by ShoreBank, after it became a troubled institution, to address problems identified by regulators. These individuals transitioned to Urban Partnership and were not responsible for ShoreBank's decline, according to FDIC and IDFPR officials.22 Table 7 provides an overview of senior ShoreBank officials who transitioned to Urban Partnership. 22
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DSC had previously approved three of the managers depicted in Table 7 when those managers were initially hired by ShoreBank. 12 CFR Part 303, Subpart F, sets forth the circumstances under which an insured state nonmember bank must notify the FDIC of a change in any member of its board of directors or any senior executive officer and the procedures for filing such notice. Subpart F implements section 32 of the FDI Act. This law requires insured state nonmember banks to give the FDIC written notice at least 30 days prior to the effective date of any addition or replacement of a member of the board of directors or the employment or change in responsibilities of any individual to a position as a senior executive officer if:
We found that ShoreBank submitted the applicable documents and the FDIC reviewed and approved ShoreBank's management changes for Officials 1, 2, and 4 from Table 7. ShoreBank did not submit a complete application for Official 3, and, as a result, this person did not assume a CFO role at ShoreBank. The FDIC later approved Official 3 to become the 23
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CFO and Director of Urban Partnership as part of its approval of Urban Partnership's application for deposit insurance. Further, the FDIC considered the background, integrity, and competence of all of Urban Partnership's senior officers and Directors as part of its review of Urban Partnership's deposit insurance application. The FDIC required proposed Directors and officers to submit biographies and financial information. The FDIC's review of this information did not identify any negative results, and the FDIC concluded that Urban Partnership's senior officers and Directors were seasoned, well-regarded professionals in banking, finance, and accounting, and capable of serving as a satisfactory core management team. Differences Between ShoreBank and Urban Partnership As part of the deposit insurance approval process, the FDIC reviewed a draft version of Urban Partnership's business plan to ensure that the bank appeared viable and that Urban Partnership's operations would be sufficiently different from ShoreBank's. Benefitting from "lessons learned" regarding ShoreBank, Urban Partnership's proposed business plan showed that it intended to refine its business model by:
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The FDIC's Assessment of Urban Partnership's Eligibility to Purchase ShoreBank The FDIC has rules and regulations in effect to ensure that a potential purchaser meets certain eligibility criteria to purchase a failed institution. Restrictions on Sale of Assets by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, codified at 12 C.F.R., part 340, prohibits individuals or entities that profited or engaged in wrongdoing at the expense of an insured institution, or seriously mismanaged an insured institution, from buying assets of failed financial institutions from the FDIC. FDIC Circular 7220.4, Purchaser Eligibility Certification (PEC), provides guidance on implementing 12 C.F.R part 340 and states that a potential bidder is required to provide the FDIC with an unmodified PEC prior to the FDIC's acceptance of any offer to purchase assets. The purpose of a PEC is to identify prospective purchasers that are not eligible to purchase assets of failed financial institutions from the FDIC. The FDIC and IDFPR represented that the individuals responsible for ShoreBank's closure did not transition to Urban Partnership. The 2008 and 2010 joint examination reports noted that ShoreBank made significant changes to its overall management structure and that certain Board members or managers resigned or were terminated. In particular, ShoreBank replaced its President and Chief Credit Officer. We also verified that Urban Partnership is wholly owned by 22 entities, including financial institutions, foundations, and individuals, none of which were employees of ShoreBank or responsible for the bank's closure. Urban Partnership submitted a PEC that indicated it was eligible to purchase ShoreBank, that neither Urban Partnership nor any of its affiliated entities had a delinquent obligation to the FDIC or any other failed institution, and that neither Urban Partnership nor any of its associated persons caused a substantial loss to ShoreBank. The FDIC accepted the assertions in ShoreBank's PEC, as the PEC is a self-certification document and the FDIC does not typically verify its assertions. Resolution of ShoreBankThe IDFPR closed ShoreBank on August 20, 2010, and appointed the FDIC as receiver. On August 27, 2010, the FDIC notified the OIG that the failure cost the DIF an estimated $329.0 million. The FDIC revised the estimated loss amount to $452 million as of January 31, 2011, based on updated asset recovery assumptions and liquidation information. Urban Partnership purchased the majority of ShoreBank's assets and liabilities. The FDIC provided a loss share agreement covering ShoreBank's assets that were purchased by Urban Partnership and provided Urban Partnership with financing assistance to facilitate the transaction. 25
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We found that the FDIC applied its least cost test to determine the least-costly resolution of ShoreBank, and performed the test and related analysis in conformance with the applicable guidance. By accepting Urban Partnership's bid to purchase ShoreBank, instead of liquidating the bank, the FDIC determined that it avoided an additional DIF loss of $250.4 million. As part of its resolution costs, the FDIC paid early termination fees to two large banks totaling $74.5 million associated with the unwinding of ShoreBank's repurchase agreements, as required by the FDI Act. These two banks also committed funds to ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and invested in Urban Partnership. We did not identify evidence of political or inappropriate influence in connection with the resolution of ShoreBank. The FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Urban Partnership to purchase ShoreBank. As of June 30, 2010, ShoreBank had approximately $2.2 billion in total assets and $1.5 billion in total deposits. Urban Partnership acquired an estimated $1.5 billion and $1.3 billion of ShoreBank's assets and liabilities, respectively. Urban Partnership paid a discount of $146.3 million (11 percent) for ShoreBank's assets and a premium of 0.5 percent to assume ShoreBank's deposits. Urban Partnership purchased all of ShoreBank's loans. The FDIC retained approximately $655 million and $910 million of ShoreBank's assets and liabilities, respectively. According to FDIC officials, the assets and liabilities that the FDIC retained are not typically transferred to acquiring institutions.23 The FDIC provided a loss share agreement covering $1.4 billion of ShoreBank's assets that were purchased by Urban Partnership. The loss share agreement specified that the FDIC would reimburse Urban Partnership for up to 80 percent of its losses incurred over a 10-year period on single-family residential loans and up to 80 percent of its losses incurred over a 5-year period on other assets. Loss sharing is a feature that the FDIC introduced into selected purchase and assumption transactions in 1991 and has been commonly included in recent bank resolutions. To minimize the cost to the DIF, the FDIC retained ShoreBank's brokered deposits and paid out those deposits directly from the receivership. The FDIC typically retains brokered deposits in the receivership, as the FDIC is able to unwind these deposits more efficiently and at a lower cost than an assuming institution. This approach resulted in the assets included in the sale exceeding the liabilities and a resolution transaction payment due from Urban Partnership of approximately $75 million. The FDIC, in its receivership capacity, offered to accept a 5-year promissory note for $75 million which provided Urban Partnership with liquidity that would have otherwise been provided by the excluded brokered deposits. This form of financing was offered to all prospective bidders for the bank and was expected to increase the number of potential bidders by providing a source of liquidity and permitting bids that were closer to the intrinsic value of ShoreBank's assets. FDIC officials stated that substituting note financing for high-cost brokered deposits can maximize recoveries, 26
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and DRR informed us of three recent closed bank transactions that had similar liability structures (i.e., where assets exceeded liabilities) and where such financing was provided. The FDIC also provided Urban Partnership a line of credit allowing it to draw up to $100 million because the FDIC was concerned that entities would remove funds they deposited with ShoreBank upon its acquisition by Urban Partnership. As of March 7, 2011, Urban Partnership had not borrowed against this line of credit. FDIC officials were not aware of other instances where a similar line of credit was offered to a purchasing institution. FDIC staff told us that offering financing assistance and a line of credit are both rare and only offered when an institution is difficult to sell. Least Cost Decision We reviewed the FDIC's least cost analysis and interviewed FDIC staff who prepared the least cost calculations to obtain an overview of the FDIC's process for estimating DIF losses under various resolution methods. We also reviewed applicable portions of DRR's Least Cost Test Manual, which provides a detailed description of how to determine the least-costly resolution of a failing institution. We found that ShoreBank's least cost analysis was prepared in conformance with the applicable portions of this manual. The FDIC determined that the least-costly resolution was to accept Urban Partnership's bid to purchase ShoreBank, instead of liquidating the bank, which avoided an additional DIF loss of $250.4 million. Since 1991, the FDIC has been subject to a statutory mandate that requires it to address a stressed financial institution by using the resolution type that is the least-costly to the DIF of all possible options.24 The FDIC calculates the least cost by using standard formulas that are contained in a series of Excel spreadsheets to determine the DIF costs associated with applicable resolution methods. The formulas take into account a bank's balance sheet items, valuations of the bank's assets, estimated losses and expenses, and bids received. If there are multiple bidders and types of bids to purchase a failing bank, the FDIC is required to compare each bid to determine which one results in the least cost to the DIF. There are three basic resolution methods for failing institutions, as follows:
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ShoreBank was resolved through the purchase and assumption resolution method. The FDIC's least cost analysis for resolving ShoreBank was straightforward because the FDIC was only required to compare Urban Partnership's bid to the estimated cost of liquidation, as there were no other bidders and open bank assistance did not apply to ShoreBank. Using standard formulas and computations to estimate the cost to the DIF, the FDIC estimated that liquidating ShoreBank would have cost the FDIC $618.1 million while selling ShoreBank to Urban Partnership cost the FDIC $367.7 million.25 As a result, the FDIC determined that accepting Urban Partnership's bid to purchase ShoreBank avoided an additional loss of $250.4 million, resulting in the least-costly resolution of ShoreBank. As discussed earlier, between August 27, 2010, and January 31, 2011, the FDIC increased its DIF loss estimate for the ShoreBank failure by $123 million (from $329 million to $452 million), based on updated asset recovery assumptions and liquidation information. According to DRR officials, the assumptions used by the Division of Finance in estimating the asset recovery amounts had changed. Our understanding is that the FDIC applied these revised assumptions to all receiverships, and some loss estimates increased, while others decreased. We confirmed that the assumptions would apply equally to a deposit payoff or a purchase and assumption transaction, thus the change in assumptions would not have impacted ShoreBank's least cost test. Long-Term Repurchase Agreements At the time of its failure, ShoreBank had approximately $400 million in outstanding repurchase agreements that it relied upon for funding and liquidity needs. Under such agreements, an institution sells a security to a counterparty and agrees to repurchase the security at a mutually agreed upon date and price. The agreement provides the institution with an immediate source of liquidity. The majority of ShoreBank's repurchase agreements had 5 to 7 years remaining before maturity, were considered non-core funding sources, and contained early termination penalties, which were triggered when ShoreBank failed. While the FDIC can repudiate many contracts at the time of a bank's failure, repurchase agreements are statutorily protected by the FDI Act and fall into the category of Qualified Financial Contracts that the FDIC must honor. As a result, the FDIC incurred approximately $77 million 28
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in early termination fees payable to its counterparties. Two of the counterparties also committed funds to ShoreBank's recapitalization effort and subsequently invested in Urban Partnership. The FDIC paid the majority of the termination fees ($74.5 million) to these two counterparties, as required by the agreements. DRR officials informed us that the repurchase agreements terms used by ShoreBank were similar to those used by other banks that enter into repurchase agreements and are under the FDIC's supervision. DRR officials also informed us that ShoreBank's level of repurchase agreements and related termination fees were significantly higher than those associated with most other bank failures. According to DSC, this was because ShoreBank historically relied upon high levels of non-core funding sources, including repurchase agreements, due to limited funding from deposits in the areas the bank serviced. Extent to Which There Was Political or Inappropriate Influence Regarding ShoreBank MattersAs discussed previously, we performed steps to identify evidence of political or inappropriate influence associated with the FDIC's handling of ShoreBank-related matters. These steps included (1) interviewing officials from the FDIC, IDFPR, and other federal banking agencies; (2) interviewing representatives from ShoreBank and selected large bank investors; and (3) reviewing selected FDIC officials' e-mail, telephone records, and calendar entries related to ShoreBank, Administration, or Congressional officials. None of the officials we interviewed indicated that they were subject to political or inappropriate influence. Further, nothing came to our attention to suggest that the supervision of ShoreBank, private-sector recapitalization effort, CDCI process, ShoreBank marketing process, Urban Partnership qualification process, or resolution of ShoreBank were subject to any political or inappropriate influence. CORPORATION COMMENTSAfter we issued our draft report, RMS and DRR provided additional information for our consideration, and we revised our report to reflect this information, as appropriate. Because the report contained no recommendations, a written management response was not required. The Director, RMS, elected to provide a written response on March 7, 2011. In the response, the Director reiterated that the FDIC's actions taken with regard to supervising and resolving ShoreBank were within the FDIC's statutory mission of minimizing costs to the DIF and in compliance with applicable policies and procedures. With regard to the CDCI program, the Director noted that the FDIC followed its standard process and applied the Treasury's viability criteria in reviewing ShoreBank's CDCI application and that DSC conducted a comprehensive analysis to determine a capital level that would be necessary to support lending under worse-than-expected economic scenarios. The response is included in its entirety in Appendix 3. 29
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Appendix 1OBJECTIVE, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGYOn August 5, 2010, prior to ShoreBank's failure, the Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee and the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations requested that we review private-sector efforts to recapitalize ShoreBank and the FDIC's consideration of ShoreBank's application for funds under the Treasury's CDCI program. The Ranking Members requested that we determine whether the Administration or Members of the Congress exerted political influence over the FDIC associated with efforts to recapitalize ShoreBank. Further, as required by section 38(k) of the FDI Act, and amended by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the Financial Reform Act), the OIG conducted an a MLR of the failure of ShoreBank. When the DIF incurs a material loss with respect to an insured depository institution, the Inspector General of the appropriate federal banking agency shall prepare a report to that agency outlining the bank's causes of failure and the agency's supervision of the institution. The objectives of this audit were to determine (1) the timeline of events pertaining to the FDIC's supervision and CDCI consideration for ShoreBank; (2) the extent and nature of FDIC involvement in the ShoreBank investor recapitalization effort; (3) whether the FDIC followed its standard process in reviewing ShoreBank's CDCI application and whether ShoreBank met CDCI eligibility requirements; (4) whether the resolution followed selected FDIC policies and regulations related to marketing the bank, assessing purchaser eligibility, and making a least cost decision; and (5) whether there was any indication of political or inappropriate influence imposed on the FDIC in connection with the supervision, investor recapitalization effort, CDCI consideration, or resolution of ShoreBank. In addition, to address the requirements of the FDI Act, we (6) determined the causes of ShoreBank's failure and the resulting material loss to the DIF and (7) evaluated the FDIC's supervision of ShoreBank, including the FDIC's implementation of the PCA provisions of section 38 of the FDI Act. This report addresses the first five objectives, in response to the Ranking Members' concerns. We issued a separate report addressing objectives six and seven, which can be found at http://www.fdicig.gov. We conducted this performance audit from August 2010 to February 2011 in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain sufficient, appropriate evidence to provide a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. We believe that the evidence obtained provides a reasonable basis for our findings and conclusions based on our audit objectives. 30
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Appendix 1OBJECTIVE, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGYScope and Methodology To achieve these objectives, we performed the following procedures and techniques:
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Appendix 1OBJECTIVE, SCOPE, AND METHODOLOGY
We asked interviewees from both inside and outside of the FDIC if they or anyone they knew of were subject to political or inappropriate influence regarding any activities associated with ShoreBank and Urban Partnership. Internal Control, Reliance on Computer-processed Information, Performance Measurement, and Compliance with Laws and Regulations Consistent with the audit objectives, we did not substantively assess the FDIC's overall internal controls or management control structures related to the areas that we reviewed. We obtained data from various FDIC systems but determined that information system controls were not significant to the audit objectives and, therefore, did not evaluate the effectiveness of information system controls. We relied on information from various sources, including examination reports, correspondence files, and testimonial evidence, and in some instances used this information to corroborate data obtained from systems that were used to support our audit conclusions. The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (the Results Act) directs Executive Branch agencies to develop a customer-focused strategic plan, align agency programs and activities with concrete missions and goals, and prepare and report on annual performance plans. Our objectives did not require us to evaluate the FDIC's efforts to meet the Results Act. Regarding compliance with laws, regulations, policies and procedures, we performed tests to determine whether the FDIC complied with applicable requirements related to its review of ShoreBank's CDCI application; supervision, marketing, and resolution of ShoreBank, including the least cost analysis and decision; and assessment of Urban Partnership's deposit insurance application and eligibility to purchase ShoreBank. Additionally, we assessed the risk of fraud and abuse related to our objectives in the course of evaluating audit evidence. 32
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Appendix 2Acronyms
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| CAMELS | Capital, Asset Quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity to Market Risk |
| CDCI Community Development Capital Initiative | Community Development Capital Initiative |
| CDFI | Community Development Financial Institution |
| CEO | Chief Executive Officer |
| CFO | Chief Financial Officer |
| CRA | Community Reinvestment Act |
| DIF | Deposit Insurance Fund |
| DRR | Division of Resolutions and Receiverships |
| DSC | Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection |
| FDI | Federal Deposit Insurance |
| FF&E | Furniture, Fixtures, and Equipment |
| FRB | Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |
| IDFPR | Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation |
| IFA | Illinois Finance Authority |
| MLR | Material Loss Review |
| OCC | Office of the Comptroller of the Currency |
| OIG | Office of Inspector General |
| OTS | Office of Thrift Supervision |
| PCA | Prompt Corrective Action |
| PEC | Purchaser Eligibility Certificate |
| RMS | Risk Management Supervision |
| SBC | ShoreBank Corporation |
| TARP | Troubled Asset Relief Program |
| Treasury | United States Department of the Treasury |
| U.S.C. | United States Code |
Appendix 3CORPORATION COMMENTS
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