Who is Dave Spence? "ON CONSERVATIVE TALK RADIO: KINDER CALLS ON SPENCE TO DEFEND BANK BAILOUT"

Jefferson City, Mo.—Just days after endorsing his fraternity brother’s campaign for Governor, Missouri Lt. Governor Peter Kinder took to conservative radio to call on David Spence to explain the circumstances around Spence’s resignation from the board of Reliance Bancshares, and defend the bank’s decision not to repay its bailout funds.  Spence has said he supported the bank’s decision to accept $42 million in bailout money, but his story about the bank’s decision to stop making payments on the loan conflicts with what the bank told federal authorities.  Spence also claimed he didn’t personally “get one cent” from the bailout funds, but it turns out he owned nearly 600,000 shares of the bank’s stock.

"Even David Spence’s friends know that his clumsy explanations about his bank’s $42 million bailout aren’t cutting it.  David Spence has spent his first week as candidate ducking questions about his bank’s decision to stop repaying its bailout and misleading voters about his decision to leave the bank.  If David Spence wants Missouri voters to take him seriously, he can start by giving them an honest explanation about his bank’s failure to pay back its $42 million bailout," said Caitlin Legacki, Missouri Democratic Party spokeswoman.

According to Politico, Kinder made the statement to conservative radio host Dana Loesch on Monday afternoon. “I am not briefed on the details of the TARP [at] the bank board he sat on or . . . under what circumstances they did or didn't pay a dividend," Kinder said. "Those details are something in his business background that he's got to defend." [Audio available here.]

Last year, Kinder said “TARP and all bailouts” should be terminated. [Twitter, 5/18/11]

NOT CREDIBLE: DAVE SPENCE’S EXCUSES AND EVASIONS JUST AREN’T CUTTING IT WITH MISSOURI VOTERS – OR HIS COLLEAGUES

David Spence served on the board of directors of Reliance Bancshares, which received $42 million in bailout money through the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and yet still paid its CEO a lavish salary as well as bonuses and perks.  According to the St. Louis Business Journal, the bank stopped making payments on its TARP debt in late 2010.  [St. Louis Business Journal, 3/25/11; 8/9/11, 10/7/11; St. Louis Post Dispatch, 4/23/09; St. Louis Beacon, 11/18/11]

Spence Said He Didn’t “Recall Any Details” But Praised the Bailout for Giving Banks an “Extra Cushion of Capital.” When asked by the Associated Press about Reliance Bank’s decision to stop paying back the TARP money it owes, “Spence said he doesn't recall any details about that decision, but he said the federal bank bailout program helped avoid a potential economic disaster by providing banks with ‘extra cushion of capital.’” [AP, 11/8/11]

• FACT: Spence Was Serving on the Board of Directors When Reliance Decided to Stop Repaying Bailout.  Spence served on the board of Reliance Bancshares until March 2011. According to the St. Louis Business Journal, Reliance “has not made a [TARP] payment since November 2010.” [St. Louis Business Journal, 3/25/11, 10/7/11]

Spence Now Says He Resigned Over the Bailout Issue.  In two separate interviews, Spence maintained that he resigned from the board of Reliance Bancshares over the issue of TARP.  As reported by Eli Yokley,   “In early 2011, Reliance suspended payments on TARP, and a month later, Spence resigned from the bank’s board.  ‘I resigned from the bank board over this issue,’ Spence said.”  As reported by the St. Louis Beacon,  “Spence resigned from the holding company and the board last March and says he did so, in part, because he objected to Reliance's decision not to make the $2.2 million payment to TARP… ‘What I wanted to do, and what the board wanted to do, are two different things,’ Spence said.  [PoliticMO, 11/15/11; St. Louis Beacon, 11/18/11] 

• FACT: Statements Directly Contradict the Company’s Official Statement to Federal Regulators. According to Reliance’s statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Spence’s resignation was “not related to any disagreements with [Reliance’s] operations, policies or practices.”  According to SEC regulations, “if a director has resigned or refuses to stand for re-election to the board of directors…the company must disclose… a brief description of the circumstances representing the disagreement that management believes caused, in whole or in part, the director's resignation, refusal to stand for re-election or removal.” [SEC Rule 33-8400; Reliance Bancshares Form 8-k, 3/16/11]

Spence Insisted He Did Not ‘Get One Cent From TARP.’ As reported by the St. Louis Beacon, “His point to the public, said Spence, was that he personally ‘did not get one cent’ from TARP.” [St. Louis Beacon, 11/18/11]

• FACT: As A Large Stockholder, Spence Benefited from Reliance’s Government Bailout.  Spence owned nearly 600,000 shares of Reliance Bancshares stock – stock that would have been worth much less had the bank not been infused with $40 million in government bailout funds. [Reliance Bancshares, SEC Form 4, 9/20/10; St. Louis Business Journal, 2/23/09]. Courtesy of Missouri Democrat.

Our addition: 

Dave Spence: I am worth $180-200 million, live in a $8 million mansion,
and took a TARP bailout of $42 million for my bank but refused to pay it
back! oops! I resigned from the bank board of directors when I realized
it was going to be a political liability in the 2012 Missouri governor's
race! MISSOURI VOTERS DON'T WORRY BE HAPPY! Click the
right-pointing arrow to watch the YouTube video and song. 

DAVE SPENCE IS A TYCOON WHO WILL BAIL OUT OF YOUR INTEREST! CAN YOU AFFORD THAT? HE WILL BE A GOVERNOR BARRICADED WITH WEALTHY FRIENDS IN HIS $8,000,000 MANSION!