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March 11,2010
Via Email & Mail
Mr. Nathan M. Will, Associate Counsel
The Vanguard Group, Inc.
P.O. Box 2600, V26
Valley Forge, PA 19482
Phil Angelides
Chairman
Hon. Bill Thomas
Re:
Treatment of Vanguard Non-Public Information
Dear Mr. Will:
Vice Clzairman
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 The Vanguard Group, Inc. and its affiliates ("Vanguard")
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 Vanguard'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
Heather H. Murren, CFA
Commzssioner
John W. Thompson
Commissioner
Peter J. Wallison
Commissioner
Any non-public information that is obtained from Vanguard 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.
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 Van guard 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 Vanguard, and allow Vanguard to consult
with the Commission before the Commission uses any of the Vanguard's nonpublic 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
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 800 • Washington, DC 20006-4614
Thomas Greene
Executive Director
202.292.2799 • 202.632.1604 Fax
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 nonpublic information or testimony related thereto.
Finally, all information obtained from Vanguard or relating to Vanguard 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 Van guard 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 Vanguard 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 Vanguard's continued cooperation.
Very truly yours,
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
Cc: Tom Greene
Executive Director
Tom Krebs
Assistant Director & Deputy General Counsel
4840-6074-2661, v. 1
@FedFRASER