I’m sure this isn’t the kind of news Treasury Secretary John Snow was hoping for upon releasing his first annual financial disclosure form.
Oops. A red-faced Treasury Secretary John Snow, who has been going around the country preaching the importance of financial literacy, can now point to himself as a glaring example of what not to do.
It turns out his investment adviser made a $10.87 million mistake. Snow didn’t catch it because he didn’t bother to read his financial statements for more than a year.
Let’s not forget, Snow is the U.S. Treasury Secretary.
This is a problem that may require a bit more than a “my bad” from Snow’s office. Snow has been working for months on regulations governing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but at the same time owned more than $10 million worth of securities of these and other government-sponsored housing finance companies. It’s the kind of conflict of interest violation that causes people to lose their jobs.
Apparently, as the AP noted, this wasn’t a secret hidden from Snow; the information was included on his financial statements — which he now claims he didn’t read.
Snow has been receiving periodic financial statements over the past year that showed he owned the mortgage company bonds, but Nichols said he never bothered to open them — conduct that Snow as head of the government’s financial literacy campaign would certainly frown upon.
Upon learning of the problem, Snow explained yesterday that he quickly sold the securities and took in $10.4 million. A Treasury spokesperson said the problem stemmed from “a misunderstanding or miscommunication” between Snow and a financial adviser. That’s quite a gaffe.
Just the latest reason to question the myth of Republican “competence.”