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May 7, 2010
Via Email & Mail
Mr. Albert C. Lambert
Morgan, Lewis & Beckius LLP
1111 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20004
Phil Angelides
Cl!airman
Hon. Bill Thoma
Re:
Treatment of NIBC Non-Public Information
Dear Mr. Lambert:
Vice Cl!airman
Brooksley Born
Commis5ioner
Byron S. Georgiou
Com missioner
Senator Bob Graham
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 provided by NIBC Credit Management, Inc. and its affiliates
("NIBC") to the Commission and its staff.
When submitting information to the Commission please indicate what is truly
"non-public" to allow the Commission to track NIBC'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 of the terms of this letter.
Com 111 issioner
Keith Hennessey
Commissioner
Douglas Holtz-Eakin
Commissioner
Any non-public information that is obtained from NIBC (please note that it is
likely that some of the information we receive from NIBC 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 nonpublic 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.
Heather H. Murren, CPA
Commissioner
John W. Thomp on
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 NIBC 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 NIBC, and allow NIBC to consult with the
Commission before the Commission uses any of the NIBC's non-public
information in any interim or tina) report to the President and Congress, or in any
public hearing.
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 800 • Washington, DC 20006-4614
Thomas Greene
Executive Director
202.292.2799 • 202.632.1604 Fax
-9-•
*
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 NIBC or relating to NIBC will be transmitted to the
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) following the completion ofthe
Commission's work. To the extent permitted by law, the Commission will request that NARA
not release to the public the NIBC 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
NIBC 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 NIBC's continued cooperation.
Very truly yours,
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Cc: Wendy Edelberg
Execulive Director
Chris Seefer
Assistant Director & Deputy General Counsel
@FedFRASER