I like much of what Sheila Bair has done and many of her ideas, but what appears to have happened here was a severe lapse of judgement if the facts prove true. The way Bair went about getting this loan doesn't feel right and she knew better (given what happened to Dodd). Why didn't she start the process out by bringing in the attorney's instead of getting a retroactive waiver?
This is going to hurt her reform efforts and jeopardize any chance she had of advancement, unless of course the administration continues to award based on ethical lapses (can somebody say Geithner?). Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity to have a clean sweep, a Trifecta if you will - get rid of Bernanke, Geithner and Bair at the same time and bring in people who have the credentials to get things done - and no, I'm not talking about a bringing in a bunch of ex-Goldman execs.
Scott Dauenhauer CFP, MSFP, AIF
