OFFICE OF THE SPECIAL INSPECTOR GENERAL 4 FORTHE TROUBLED ASSET RELIEF PROGRAM, President Barack Obama . ‘The White House Fee 14 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW ‘Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear President Obama: Lam writing to notify you of my intent to resign, on March 30, 2011, asthe Special Inspector General forthe Troubied Asset Relief Program. It has been an honor anda privilege to serv. ‘The Office ofthe Special Inspector General forthe Troubled Asset Relief Program (’SIGTARP") was created by the Emergency Economie Stabilization Act of 2008 (“EESA”), the sae Act that created the Troubled Asset Relief Program (“TARP”). In November 2008, 1 was nominated by President Bush, withthe assent of your transition team, and I was confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate on December 8, 2008. When I took office on December 15, 2008, SIGTARP consisted of just myself and a single employee working out of a small office in the basemert ofthe Main Treasury building; sine then, SIGTARP has grown into 1 flourishing independent cfice employing more than 140 highly skilled auditors, investigator, attorneys, and other professionals with its own dedicated office space in downtown Washington, D.., and field offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Atlanta, ‘When it began, Thad three goals for SIGTARP: to build a robust law enforcement agency to bring to justice those who sought to profit criminally from TARP and to deter those considering such misconduct; to ensure transparency in the operation of TARP so that taxpayers could better understand how the Goverament was utilizing the unprecedented investment of taxpayer funds that TARP represented; and to provide effective oversight over the Government's decision- ‘making process to minimize instances of waste fraud and abuse. I believe that SIGTARP has met each ofthese goals As the Sole TARP oversight body with law enforcement authority, SIGTARP has developed an Investigations Division with perhaps the finest collection of white-collar criminal investigators ever assembled. ‘The resus have been rapid and tangible, with SIGTARP’s investigations already leading to the crimnal conviction of 14 individuals for fraud, more than $550 million in fraud losses avoided, and more than $150 million recovered, ensuring that SIGTARP will more than pay for itself for its entre existence. SIGTARP is also the lead law enforcement agency in the criminal investigation and prosecution of Lee Farkas, the former Chairman of Taylor Bean & Whitaker, whose multi-billion dollar fraud indictment arguably represents the most significant criminal prosecution to dat arising out of the financial crisis. Going forward, with more than 140 ongoing investigations across the country, SIGTARP's Investigations Division is poised toPres, Barack Obama February 14,2011 Page 2 broaden its impact even futher and to bring scores of additional defendants to justice for their attempts to take criminal alvantage of the Nation’ financial crisis, SIGTARP has promoted trnspareney through 13 published audits and nine quarterly eports to Congress. SIGTARP's audit reports have delivered tothe Ameriean people and th representatives in Congress detailed accounts of the extraordinary steps taken by their Government to respond tothe financial crisis, the rationale behind those decisions, andthe important lessons to be lexned from them. Through SIGTARP"s quarterly eports to Congress, SIGTARP has helped querch the American taxpayers’ thirst for information on the expenditure oftheir tax dollars through TARP. To date, SIGTARP’s website has been visited more than 49 million times as taxpayers have accessed reports that have documented TARP sueeesses and failues in easy-to-understend terms while putting TARP into perspective as only a part of the ‘mult-tillion dollar Goverament effort to stabilize the financial system. These eports have also brought attention tothe org-term, nonfinancial costs of TARP, including harm to the Government's credibility and the very real dangers that plague our financial system with the continued existence of large financial institutions still deemed “too big to fal.” Thanks in no small part to the dedication ofthe talented professionals at SIGTARP, TARP stands in a far better and more transparent place today than anyone could have reasonably hoped in December 2008. The artcipated financial costs, while stil significant, have fallen dramatically from early projections. One reason for this is that SIOTARP has regularly made, and Treasury has often adepted, recommendations concerning TARP program design that protected TARP against fraud vulnerabilities. Asa result, it appears that TARP will experience losses from fraud ata subsanially lesser rate than what is typically expected for comparable Government programs. Furthermore, with eredible plans to liquidate the Government's remaining ownership interests in those TARP recipiens that ae still the beneficiaries of extraondinary Government assistance, the program is well on its way to resolving its most significant and controversial loans and investments. All old, Iam very pleased to report that SIGTARP has had a truly remarkable positive impact for an office of such a smal size and recent creation. With my inital goals met and with these particular accomplishments in mind, and after more than 10 years in continuous Government service, I believe tht it isthe right time for me to step down and pursue other opportunites, This isnot to say, of course, that SIGTARP's work is complete, Important parts of TARP continue fo struggle: more than 150 TARP recipient banks have missed their regular dividend payments, and the Home Affordable Modification Program has so far fallen far short of ESA's ‘mandate that TARP be used to “preserve homeownership.” Indeed, with more than $130 billion in TARP funds outstanding and close to $60 billion still available tobe spent, robust and effective oversight of TARP remains vitally important, There is no question that SIGTARE will, continue to lead that effort, through its continued quarterly reports to Congres, its audits, and itsPres. Barack Obama February 14,2011 Page 3 ‘ongoing criminal investizaions. Indeed, given the important work ahead, I would not be ‘comfortable offering my resignation i not for the great confidence that Ihave in the leadership team at SIGTARP. That tam, ead by the Deputy Special Inspector General, Christy Romero, is fully prepared to continue advancing SIGTARP's mission, thas tuly been an honor t serve, particularly during such a critical time, and Iwill always be ‘thankful to you for allowing me the opportunity to do so. Special Inspector General cc: Chairmen and Ranking Members of Committees of Jurisdiction Secretary Timothy ?. Geithner