Winning Financial Firms Gave Big in 2008 Cycle

The nine companies and subadvisors chosen to manage the government’s purchase of toxic assets donated almost a quarter of a million dollars to President Barack Obama’s election campaign.

According to an analysis of campaign finance data provided by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics, employees and executives of the selected firms spent $1,812,191 on federal candidates during the 2008 election cycle, much of it to Democratic candidates. Of that, President Obama’s campaign received $245,919.

Oaktree Capital Management L.P. was the most generous giver in 2008, donating $390,854 to federal candidates and $12,900 to Obama. Blackrock Inc. was a close second in overall donations with $390,160 to federal candidates. It led all others with $53,350 in contributions to Obama.
 
Wellington Management Co. gave the largest percentage of its overall donations to Obama. The firm’s employees and executives gave $99,750 to federal candidate, including $46,150 to Obama.

The Treasury Department said it selected the nine firms based on their capital position, their ability to raise sufficient funding to buy the mortgage-backed securities, and their performance track records. It also said the “criteria were evaluated on a holistic basis and failure to meet any one criterion did not necessarily disqualify an application.”

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