REP. NITA LOWEY (D-NY)
- Rep. Lowey's husband (Stephen) is a partner with the NY law firm Lowey, Dannenberg, Bemporad and Selinger. This particular law firm specializes in shareholder class-action suits against the management of publicly traded corporations.
On June 30, 1993, Rep. Lowey's husband purchased between 500,000 and 1,000,000 dollars worth of warrants in Chase Manhattan Corp., noting that the transaction was an "income-in-kind" purchase. The warrants enabled the holder to purchase common stock in Chase Manhattan at $34.6 per share.
One year earlier (on July 30, 1992), The American Banker reported that Chase Manhattan had settled a shareholder class action for $5 million in cash, and $12.5 million in warrants. Co-lead counsel for the shareholders against Chase Manhattan was Lowey, Dannenberg, Bemporad and Selinger.
Rep. Lowey is # 7 on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, Export Financing and Related Programs. One entity that receives appropriation from Rep. Lowey's committee is the U.S. Export-Import Bank (an entity near-and-dear to Chase Manhattan).
At the time of her husband's purchase, Rep. Lowey was working on H.R. 2295: FOREIGN OPERATIONS, EXPORT FINANCING AND RELATED PROGRAMS APPROPRIATIONS ACT (Introduced May 27, 1993; Referred to House Appropriations; H.RES. 200 Providing for the Consideration of H.R. 2295 on June 16, 1993; Became P.L. 103-87). Appropriations for the Export-Import Bank came in at $1.0 billion.
On December 16, 1993, Rep. Lowey's husband purchased between 1,000 and 15,000 dollars worth of stock in Boeing. This purchase is interesting because of Boeing's relationship with the U.S. Export-Import Bank and Chase Manhattan. Consider the following events AFTER the Mr. Lowey's Boeing purchase:
- On February 16, 1994, The Bureau of National Affairs International Trade Reporter noted that the U.S. Export-Import Bank will guarantee $183 million for a $207 million sale of Boeing aircraft to Asiana Airlines of Seoul, Korea; Chase Manhattan Bank NA was the guaranteed lender for an interim period until securitization.
- On April 29, 1994, the EMAP Business Information Ltd. reported that Boeing and McDonnell Douglas had opened talks with the national airline of Saudi Arabia for a contract of more than 30 aircraft. The U.S. Export-Import Bank had already made arrangements for the deal; Chase Manhattan had been asked to finance the deal.
- On July 1, 1994, The Financial Times Limited reported that the U.S. Export-Import Bank guaranteed a $176 million purchase of six Boeing aircraft by the Malaysian Airline System; Eximbank guaranteed a $143 million loan by Chase Manhattan to Malaysian Airlines.
- On January 1995, Reuters reported that Chase Manhattan had arranged an "$82.7 million 12-year Japanese-leveraged lease on a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft for TACA International Airlines." "Chase said the transaction is one of the first Japanese leveraged leases that has used a U.S. Export-Import Bank guarantee...Chase said the debt guaranteed by the Eximbank covered 76 percent of the cost of the aircraft."
QUESTION: DID THE LOWEY'S EXCERCISE THEIR CHASE MANHATTAN WARRANTS AND/OR SELL THEIR BOEING STOCK AROUND ANY OF THESE EXIMBANK DEALS??? WILL HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL THE 1994 FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE REPORTS COME OUT.
POLITICAL MONEY NOTES: Rep. Lowey has accepted $500 in campaign contributions from Boeing (3/2/94), and $500 in campaign contributions from Chase Manhattan (2/17/94).
- On April 1, 1993, Rep. Lowey and her husband purchased between 500,000 and 1,000,000 worth of interest in an M.D. Sass Reenterprise Fund. According to stock brokers, this is an off-shore fund, and apparently closely-held since there is very little trading activity associated with it.
POLITICAL MONEY NOTES: Since 1987, Rep. Lowey has accepted at least $7,000 in campaign contributions from Hugh Lamle of M.D. Sass.