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July I6, 20IO
Via Email & Mail

Phil Angelides

Chairma11

Mr. John G. Hromy
Legal Counsel
Ally Financial Inc.
II 00 Virginia Drive
Mail Code 190-FTW-L95
Fort Washington, PA 19034

Hon. Bill Thoma

Vice Clwirma11

Re:

Treatment of Ally Financial Non-Public Information

Dear Mr. Hromy:
Brooksley Born

Commissioner
Byron S. Georgiou

On behalf of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission ("the Commission"), I write
to memorialize our understanding with respect to the treatment of non-public
information voluntarily provided by Ally Financial Inc. and its affiliates ("Ally
Financial ") to the Commission and its staff.

Commissioner
Senator Bob Graham

Commissioner
Keith Hennessey

Commissio11er
Douglas Holtz-Eakin

Commissio11er
Heather H. Murren, CFA

Commissioner

When submitting information to the Commission please indicate what is truly
"non-public" to allow the Commission to track Ally Financial's submissions
appropriately. Please avoid categorizing everything as non-public, as to do so
will make the Commission's work more difficult and may lead to inadvertent
public disclosure outside ofthe terms of this letter.
Any non-public information that is obtained from Ally Financial (please note that
it is likely that some of the information we receive from Ally Financial we may
also receive from other sources without restriction) will be used only by
employees and agents of the Commission who have a need to know and use the
information in the performance of their official work duties in a manner consistent
with its non-public status and applicable law. All persons with whom non-public
information is shared will be advised of and, as condition of receiving non-public
information, will agree to comply with the understanding in this letter.

John W. Thompson

Commissioner
Peter J. Wallison

Commissioner

In accordance with its statutory mandate and its duty to the American public, the
Commission, if it determines it is in the public interest, may release to the public
non-public information obtained from Ally Financial as part of any interim or
final report to the President and Congress, or in connection with any public
hearings, if the Commission determines to do so by a majority vote, or by the
decision of the Chairman and Vice Chairman acting together on behalf of the
Commission.
Prior to any release of non-public information under the above paragraph, the
Commission will give written notice to Ally Financial, and allow Ally Financial
to consult with the Commission before the Commission uses any of Ally
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 800 • Washington, DC 20006-4614

Wendy Edelberg

Executive Director

202.292.2799 • 202.632.1604 Fax

Financial's non-public information in any interim or final report to the President and Congress,
or in any public hearing.
Nothing as described in this letter will prevent the Commission or its staff from complying with
a request or demand from a duly authorized Committee of the United States Congress with
authority to require and receive the non-public information, or a legally valid and enforceable
subpoena or order by a court of competent jurisdiction for the non-public information or
testimony related thereto.
Finally, all information obtained from Ally Financial or relating to Ally Financial will be
transmitted to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) following the
completion of the Commission's work. To the extent permitted by law, the Commission will
request that NARA not release to the public the Ally Financial non-public information for an
appropriate length of time. If you have a legal basis to believe that the Commission is not
required by law to provide certain Ally Financial information to NARA, please let us know.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me at 202-292-1339 or
GCohen@fcic.gov.
Thank you very much for Ally Financial's continued cooperation.

Very truly yours,

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission

Cc: Wendy Edelberg
Executive Director
Tom Krebs
Assistant Director & Deputy General Counsel