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FINANCIAL STABILITY OVERSIGHT BOARD

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Minutes of the Financial Stability Oversight Board Meeting
December 19, 2008
A meeting of the Financial
Stability Oversight Board (“Board”) was
held on Friday, December 19, 2008. The
first part of the meeting occurred by
telephone conference call and commenced
at 8:30 a.m. (EST). The second part of the
meeting occurred at the offices of the
Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”)
and commenced at 2:00 p.m. (EST).
MEMBERS PARTICIPATING OR
PRESENT:

Mr. Lambright, Chief Investment Officer,
Office of Financial Stability,
Department of the Treasury2
Mr. Wolfteich, Chief Compliance Officer,
Office of Financial Stability,
Department of the Treasury
Mr. Alvarez, General Counsel,
Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System1

Mr. Bernanke, Chairperson
Mr. Paulson
Mr. Cox
Mr. Preston
Mr. Lockhart

Ms. Liang, Associate Director,
Division of Research & Statistics,
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System2

STAFF PARTICIPATING OR
PRESENT:

Mr. Cartwright, General Counsel,
Securities and Exchange Commission

Mr. Treacy, Executive Director
Mr. Fallon, General Counsel
Mr. Gonzalez, Secretary

Mr. Scott, Senior Advisor to the
Chairman, Securities and Exchange
Commission

AGENCY OFFICIALS
PARTICIPATING OR PRESENT:

Mr. Borchert, Senior Advisor to the
Secretary of the Department of
Housing and Urban Development

Mr. Kashkari, Interim Assistant
Secretary of the Treasury for
Financial Stability and
Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury for International
Economics and Development

Mr. Montgomery, Assistant Secretary for
Housing and Commissioner of the
Federal Housing Administration,
Department of Housing and Urban
Development2

Mr. Swagel, Assistant Secretary of the
Treasury for Economic Policy2
Mr. Hoyt, General Counsel,
Department of the Treasury
Mr. Jester, Department of the Treasury

Mr. Shafran, Senior Advisor to the
Secretary, Department of the
Treasury1

1

Participated in morning session only.

2

Present for afternoon session only.

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FINANCIAL STABILITY OVERSIGHT BOARD
Mr. DeMarco, Chief Operating Officer
and Deputy Director for Housing
Mission and Goals, Federal Housing
Finance Agency
Chairperson Bernanke called the
meeting to order at approximately
8:30 a.m. (EST).
Mr. Paulson and other officials
from the Treasury provided a briefing on
certain actions that Treasury expected to
announce later that morning to promote
stability in the U.S. financial system by
providing assistance under the Troubled
Asset Relief Program (“TARP”) to
General Motors Corp. (“GM”) and
Chrysler Holding LLC (“Chrysler”).
During the briefing, Members raised and
discussed various matters related to the
assistance to be provided to GM and
Chrysler, including the financial condition
of both companies, the potential effects of
a disorderly failure of GM and Chrysler
on the U.S. economy and the financial
system, and the terms and conditions of
the expected actions.
Treasury officials provided an
overview of the principal terms and
conditions of the $13.4 billion loan that
would be provided to GM and the
$4 billion loan that would be provided to
Chrysler under the TARP. Among other
things, Members and Treasury officials
discussed the interest rate on the loans,
the timing of the loan disbursements, and
the terms and conditions of the warrants
to purchase common stock or obtain
additional notes of GM and Chrysler that
Treasury would receive in connection
with the investment. Members also
discussed the collateral available to
support repayment of the loans, including
whether such collateral included the cash
accounts of the companies. Members and

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officials also reviewed and discussed the
timing and substance of various reports
and certifications that GM and Chrysler
would be required to submit to, or obtain
from, a special designee of the President
of the United States (“President’s
Designee”) under the terms and
conditions of the loans. For example,
Members and officials discussed the
restructuring plan and term sheets that
each company would have to submit to
the President’s Designee no later than
February 17, 2009; the written
certifications and progress reports that
each company would have to submit to
the President’s Designee no later than
March 31, 2009; and the certification that
the President’s Designee would be
required to make within 30 days of
March 31, 2009, regarding the efforts of
the each company to achieve and sustain
the long-term viability, international
competitiveness and energy efficiency of
the company in accordance with its
restructuring plan. Treasury officials also
provided an overview of the restrictions
on executive compensation and bonuses
and corporate expenses that would apply
to the companies under the terms of the
loan agreements.
Members and officials also
discussed the resources available to
address financial stability concerns under
the TARP in light of the assistance to be
provided to GM and Chrysler. As part of
this discussion, Treasury officials noted
that funding of the last tranche of the
assistance to be provided to GM would be
contingent on the receipt of additional
TARP funds as provided in section
115(a)(3) of the Emergency Economic
Stabilization Act (“EESA”).
Members also discussed the
financial and regulatory status of certain

FINANCIAL STABILITY OVERSIGHT BOARD
auto-finance companies, the authority
granted to the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation under Title IV of the
Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974 (§4042 and §4047), and the
issues (including competitive
implications) that might be associated
with such an exercise of authority.
At approximately 9:10 a.m. (EST),
Chairperson Bernanke called the meeting
to recess until 2:00 p.m. (EST).
When the meeting reconvened, the
Board first considered the minutes for the
meeting of the Board held on
December 10, 2008. After discussion of
the minutes and potential modifications
thereto, the Members agreed to circulate
the minutes for approval by notation vote.
The Board then considered
proposed procedures, which had been
circulated in advance of the meeting, to
ensure that sound and effective
recordkeeping practices are in place for
the Board and that all official records of
the Board are maintained and preserved
appropriately. After discussion, it was
unanimously:
“Resolved, that the Financial
Stability Oversight Board hereby adopts
the Procedures of the Financial Stability
Oversight Board Regarding Official
Records.”
Treasury officials then provided
an update concerning the capital purchase
program (“CPP”) established under the
TARP. Members and officials discussed,
among other things, the current number of

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applications received and approved by
Treasury, recently closed transactions and
the amount of funds requested and
disbursed. Members also discussed the
standards applied in reviewing requests
for TARP funds, including the types of
firms that might seek assistance from the
TARP in light of recent actions and the
standards for reviewing current or
potential future requests for assistance
from the automotive or other industries.
Members and officials then
engaged in a discussion regarding the first
quarterly report to Congress that will be
issued by the Board pursuant to
section 104(g) of the EESA. Using
materials, Members and officials
discussed, among other things, the timing
and potential contents of the report.
Members also discussed, among other
things, conditions in the domestic and
global markets prior to the
implementation of the TARP, the
limitations of the policy tools available to
policymakers before the TARP, the size
of the TARP relative to the size of the
U.S. economy and financial system, the
changes observed in certain financial
market indicators immediately following
TARP-related actions, and the potential
impact on the economy and the financial
system if capital from the TARP had not
been made available to the banking
system.
The meeting was adjourned at
approximately 3:00 p.m. (EST).
_______________________________
Jason A. Gonzalez
Secretary