Mnuchin Disclosures Reveal Complicated Financial Web, Abundant Potential Conflicts Despite Promised Divestments

Mnuchin Confirmation Hearing Should Not Be Scheduled Until All Potential Conflicts Are Disclosed

KICKER: Mnuchin Recently Took Home Nearly $40 Million from “Foreclosure Machine” OneWest Bank


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the U.S. Office of Government Ethics released the 42-page financial disclosure and five-page ethics agreement of Steven Mnuchin, President-elect Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Secretary of the Treasury. With the release, Mnuchin announced he would be divesting from some investments but given his complicated financial portfolio, Allied Progress contends Mnuchin’s confirmation hearing should not be scheduled until all potential conflicts have been revealed. The disclosure also shows that Mnuchin recently received $40 million from notorious OneWest bank and its successor bank and may receive an additional $6 million in the next three years as part of its 2016 merger. In response, Allied Progress released the following statement from its executive director, Karl Frisch:

According to these disclosures, Steven Mnuchin recently pocketed another $40 million from OneWest, the scandal-plagued foreclosure mill of a bank that he once ran and that has been accused of fraud and deceptive practices too many times to count,” said Allied Progress executive director Karl Frisch. He continued, “Mnuchin’s disclosures shed little light on his complicated web of trusts and other investments. Unless he reveals the holdings of these trusts we have no way of knowing for sure if he has divested from all potential conflicts of interest. And given his track record of lining his pockets by foreclosing on the family homes of tens of thousands of American through potentially dubious means, it is safe to assume he would do just about anything to make a buck. Until these holdings are disclosed, Mnuchin’s confirmation hearing should not be scheduled.

 

Steven Mnuchin is a longtime Wall Street insider, formerly a second-generation executive at Goldman Sachs. At the height of the Great Recession, Mnuchin purchased IndyMac, later renamed OneWest Bank. Under his leadership, OneWest foreclosed on thousands of homeowners, including in Arizona and Nevada, with the federal government absorbing the losses while the bank made billions in profits for Mnuchin and his colleagues.

The foreclosure practices of Mnuchin’s bank came under intense fire, with one judge finding that OneWest committed “harsh, repugnant, shocking and repulsive” acts, characterizing the bank’s conduct as “inequitable, unconscionable, vexatious and opprobrious.” In another case, OneWest foreclosed on a 90-year-old woman over a payment that was short by 27 cents.

Last month, Allied Progress launched Trump Transparency Project, an initiative aimed at holding the incoming administration accountable for its economic appointments and policies that will hurt America’s middle class. The Project will continue to hold the Trump administration accountable for advancing policies that hurt working Americans.

For More Information, Visit TrumpTransparency.org

About Allied Progress

Allied Progress is a nationwide, progressive advocacy organization that uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to hold Wall Street and powerful special interests accountable. Since launching in 2015, the organization has led high-profile campaigns on several issues including reforming the payday lending industry and exposing the special interests working to cripple the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

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To speak with Allied Progress about this release, please contact Mike Czin, 202-286-7654 mczin@skdknick.com.

Allied Progress uses hard-hitting research and creative campaigns to hold powerful special interests accountable and empower hardworking Americans.

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