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March 30, 2010
Via Email & Mail
Brian T. Markley
Cahill Gordon & Reindel LLP
Eighty Pine Street
New York, NY 10005-1702
Phil Angelides
Chairmmt
Hon. Bill Thomas
Re:
Treatment of S&P Non-Public Information
Dear Mr. Markley:
Vice Chairman
Brooksley Born
Commissioner
Byron S. Georgiou
Commissioner
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 Standard & Poor's Ratings Services and its affiliates
("S&P") 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 S&P'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.
Commissioner
Keith Hennessey
Commissioner
Douglas Holtz-Eakin
Commissioner
Any non-public information that is obtained from S&P (please note that it is
likely that some of the information we receive from S&P 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, CFA
Commissioner
In accordance with its statutory mandate and its duty to the American public, the
John W. Thompson
Commissioner
Peter J. Wallison
Commissioner
Commission, if it determines it is in the public interest, may release to the public
non-public information obtained from S&P 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 S&P, and allow S&P to consult with the
Commission before the Commission uses any of the S&P's non-public
information in any interim or final 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 S&P or relating to S&P 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 S&P non-public information for an appropriate length of time, likely five years or
more. If you have a legal basis to believe that the Commission is not required by law to provide
certain S&P 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 S&P's continued cooperation.
Very truly yours,
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Cc: Tom Greene
Executive Director
Brad Bondi
Assistant Director & Deputy General Counsel
@FedFRASER