"I Worried About the Impact on Dad"

By MICHAEL DUFFY DENVER Neil Bush

Q. Why did you join the Silverado board?

A. I was looking to further establish my roots in this town. I was under the impression then that joining the board of a financial institution is a way to establish one's reputation in the community and to give you exposure to the people who are the players in a community, the people who make a difference.

Q. How old were you when you joined the board?

A. Thirty.

Q. What can a 30-year-old bring to a bank board?

A. Well, let's talk about the S&L industry for a minute and see if you think I have any idea about what's going on in the S&L business . . . When I joined the board, of course I hadn't had any experience in a financial institution. But this management provided a very large amount of detailed information, and we had thorough discussions, whether regarding transactions that came before the board, the financials, or whatever it was. I became so much more knowledgeable than most outside directors because of the incredible amount of documentation that was provided to us. It wasn't like you just show up, collect your little monthly meeting fee, have a little lunch, and you leave.

Q. Did it ever occur to you that they only wanted you because your last name was Bush?

A. No, I don't think that's the case. I would be naive if I were to sit here and deny that the Bush name didn't have something to do with it. But I want to make it very, very clear: I was never asked, and I made it clear before joining the board that I never would intervene for Silverado in the regulatory process. No one with credibility has accused me of that; in fact, no one has, as far as I know.

$ Q. What did you bring to the board then?

A. I told you. I had some roots in this community. I had been active in the community in different ways, including in the oil and gas industry, where I had built up a very respectable reputation. Maybe the advantage of being part of the Vice President's family at the time was that I was accepted more quickly in terms of age and years in this community than others of my peer group.

Q. What is your response to charges that you should have abstained from voting on the request for a $900,000 line of credit for Ken Good?

A. There was never any risk because the letter was never going to be advanced. It was never funded. I never voted on it. And there was no risk of loss because it was never going to be advanced.

Q. If you were able to do this all over again, would you vote for the Bill Walters transactions?

A. If there had been a conflict of interest, or a lawyer had advised that I should not vote -- but there wasn't, and he didn't -- I would have said, "I don't have any basis for questioning this legal authority. I'm not going to vote!" I'm not ignorant. I don't want to bring this kind of thing on myself voluntarily. But I did nothing wrong in voting for Bill Walters' transactions. That's the bottom line.

Q. Why didn't you stand up and tell the board that Good had an offer to buy a controlling interest in your company for $3 million at the same time that he was trying to restructure loans to the bank?

A. The fact is that Silverado collected $3 million from Ken Good in 1986. Three years later, they couldn't get a dime from him. So they were $3 million better off as a bottom line. These guys at Silverado knew a lot more about Ken Good than I did.

Q. Why did you quit the board?

A. The nomination process had reached a peak. Dad was to become the nominee of the G.O.P. in August 1988, and that obviously raises the profile of Neil Bush. At the same time the regulators, who had been scrupulous in their scrutiny, zealous really, signed an operating agreement with the bank. For the playing field to be absolutely level, I thought it was important for me to be off the board. I didn't want the regulators to feel my presence on the board would have any kind of impact on their progress going forward.

Q. Sometimes it appears that guys like Walters and Good used Silverado like their personal piggy bank.

A. You're absolutely wrong.

^ Q. Well, there is a record of so-called quid pro quo deals, in which borrowers allegedly received favorable treatment from Silverado on loans in exchange for using extra cash to buy Silverado stock and other business interests.

A. The Federal Home Loan Bank Board approved that structure. The same self- serving bastards who approved the deals in 1984 are the ones that are now critical of the deals. You can't have it both ways.

Q. Why did you decide to go on the offensive?

A. My hands were cuffed. The OTS ((Office of Thrift Supervision)) had a long- standing rule of confidentiality of these proceedings. I'm happy that the doors are open. I'm ready to come out swinging. I've taken enough abuse. You know, in January I was so overwhelmed. It just exploded into a public nightmare for me. So I reacted, frankly, by not taking as much care of myself. I worried about it. I read all the newspaper stories. I worried about what the next leak was going to be. I worried about the impact on Dad and my role in this thing. I gained a little weight. I didn't eat well. But you have two choices in life when you're faced with a challenge: you can either rise to it and take care of yourself, or you can let it get you. I'm taking care of myself. This sounds dumb, but I'm eating better. I drink fruit juices and water. I'm in fighting shape. I'm exercising frequently. I'm literally in better shape. I'm clearer of mind than I was in January. I've just made a decision that I'm not going to let it wear me down. It's an opportunity for me.