Bush’s Son Faces Public Probe : He’s Ordered to Explain His OK of S&L; Loan to Partner
Thrift regulators today ordered President Bush’s son, Neil, to appear at a public hearing in September to explain why, as a savings and loan officer, he approved loans to a business partner.
The hearing, before an administrative law judge of the Office of Thrift Supervision, is scheduled for Sept. 25 in Denver.
Thrift office Director Timothy Ryan decided to make the hearing public, as well as the administrative charges filed in February against Neil Bush, over the younger Bush’s objections.
The details of the Bush case and three other unrelated cases were released as part of a new policy issued today by the agency, an arm of the Treasury Department.
The new policy was announced after members of Congress criticized the agency, calling its public disclosure of information on pending cases inadequate.
From now on, the agency generally will release charges and conduct hearings in public for thrifts and their officers already closed or seized by the government. In order to avoid the danger of depositor runs, proceedings against open S&Ls; generally will continue to be conducted in private, Ryan told a news conference.
The charges, sent to Bush’s attorneys on Feb. 6, allege conflicts of interest between Bush’s role as a director of the Silverado Banking, Savings & Loan Assn. in Denver, and his other business interests.
Bush served on the board of Silverado from August, 1985, to August, 1988. It collapsed in December, 1988, at an estimated cost to taxpayers of $1 billion. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The charges said Bill L. Walters, an investor in and lender to Bush’s oil exploration company, JNB Exploration Co., received loans totaling $45 million from Silverado. They said Bush, as a director of Silverado, voted to approve them. Silverado also purchased properties from Walters for $58.4 million, according to the document.
The thrift office also said Bush inadequately disclosed his ties to Kenneth Good, a developer who defaulted on loans to Silverado.
A preliminary draft of the document was released by the House Banking Committee on June 19.
