On his Fox News show, Bill O'Reilly baselessly characterized the OneUnited Bank -- which received a $12 million federal loan under a provision of the Troubled Asset Relief Program written by Rep. Barney Frank -- as “Barney Frank's bank.” But O'Reilly provided no evidence that Frank has a financial stake in the bank, and The Boston Globe reported that “OneUnited executives have not contributed to Frank's congressional campaigns, according to the database of Center for Responsive Politics.”
O'Reilly baselessly characterized bank that received TARP loan as “Barney Frank's bank”
Written by Jeremy Schulman & Jocelyn Fong
Published
On the January 26 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly baselessly characterized the OneUnited Bank -- which received a $12 million federal loan under a provision of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) written by Rep. Barney Frank (D-MA) -- as “Barney Frank's bank.” Discussing the loan, O'Reilly also said: “I don't want Barney getting my money.” But O'Reilly provided no evidence that Frank has a financial stake in the bank. In addition, The Boston Globe reported on January 23 that “OneUnited executives have not contributed to Frank's congressional campaigns, according to the database of Center for Responsive Politics.”
According to the Globe:
House Financial Services Committee chairman Barney Frank yesterday confirmed a report that he asked a Treasury Department official to consider giving bailout money to Boston's troubled OneUnited Bank -- which ended up getting a $12 million federal loan -- but Frank said the action was a legitimate effort to protect the only minority-owned bank in Massachusetts.
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Frank said he took two steps that he believed would help OneUnited and other small banks in a similar situation. First, without naming OneUnited, he inserted general language into the financial rescue legislation designed to help banks that suffered from holding the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mae [sic] stock to be eligible for the bailout money.
Second, Frank said, he mentioned the general plight of minority-owned banks to then-Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. He also mentioned the OneUnited case to Paulson's assistant for legislative affairs, Kevin Fromer, he said.
O'Reilly teased his segment on OneUnited Bank by saying, “Barney Frank's bank got $12 million of our money,” and later by saying, “Barney Frank's bank. Congressman delivers big taxpayer dollars to it, and wait till you hear what the bank's been up to.” Discussing the loan during the segment, O'Reilly said: “I don't want Barney getting my money. I don't trust Barney.”
From the January 26 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: Next on the rundown, is there a coverup at US Airways after the Hudson River crash? Interesting story. And later, Barney Frank's bank got $12 million of our money. Wait till you hear this. Right back.
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O'REILLY: Directly ahead: Very quietly, Barack Obama signs an executive order expanding America's funding of abortions. Why did the president try to sneak it by us? And then: Barney Frank's bank. Congressman delivers big taxpayer dollars to it, and wait till you hear what the bank's been up to. Right back with those reports.
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ALEXIS GLICK (anchor of Fox Business News' Money for Breakfast): Well, here's the deal, though. The Treasury Department did give them 12 million of TARP funds --
O'REILLY: Yeah.
GLICK: -- but it was in agreement with the fact that they would raise private equity, which they did raise up to $20 million --
O'REILLY: I don't care. Let them raise their own money. I don't want Barney getting my money. I don't trust Barney.
LIZ MacDONALD (Fox News business analyst): This is basically an Internet bank, and what happened was with this bank --
O'REILLY: What's the name of the bank? I have it somewhere.
MacDONALD: It's called UnitedOne -- OneUnited.
GLICK: I've got the release here, yeah.
O'REILLY: UnitedOne. OK.
MacDONALD: You know, and here's the deal. They also, by the way --
GLICK: OneUnited Bank.