February 22, 2009
Will Herb and Marion Sandler pay a price?
Ed Lasky, AT's news editor, has an op-ed in Sunday's Pittsburgh Tribune-Review on Herb and Marion Sandler, founders of World Savings. This was the nation's second-largest savings and loans. The company was owned by Golden West Financial, which was acquired -- and shortly afterward helped to sink -- Wachovia Bank.
Now it threatens the future of Wells Fargo, which acquired Wachovia in a distress sale. I first wrote about them in this American Thinker article (How Allies of George Soros helped bring down Wachovia Bank; a subsequent op-ed ran in the Pittsburgh paper The Soros Syndrome.)
The Sandlers pioneered Pick-Your-Pay, a type of adjustable rate mortgage that many see as a form of predatory lending. They have been somewhat pilloried by the press-including a controversial satirical skit on Saturday Night Live. The US Attorney in San Francisco is investigating the company.
Will they pay a price? Given that they have showered the Democratic Party and Democratic interest groups will their wealth, they may have accumulated a lot of chits in Washington and among Democrats (including our President) that may help them avoid responsibility. Ed explores the topic in Will Herb and Marion Sandler Pay a Price? )? Or will they pick what they choose to pay?