Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2011 4:22PM

To: Ileana C. Portal

Subject: questions from ProPublica

 Ileana,

 I hope you are well. Below are the questions I mentioned I’d send. I’m going to need answers by the end of the day on Thursday.

 Thanks!

 Best,

 Jake Bernstein

Did any U.S Century director or bank official ask any member of Congress or their staff to help with the TARP loan? If so, who?

 Did any U.S. Century director or bank official ask any third party to lobby on the bank’s behalf to secure the TARP money? If so, who?

 Were there any stipulations the bank needed to fulfill before receiving the TARP loan?

 Why did the bank’s profits and other financials decline so steeply in the quarter(s) immediately after receiving the TARP money?

 Was U.S. Century not properly recognizing problem loans prior to August 2009? If so, why not?

 When the bank received the TARP money, U.S. Century had higher nonperforming and delinquent loans than peers, higher insider lending than peers, less set aside for loan losses than peers and high concentrations in construction and commercial real estate loans. Given those conditions wasn’t the bank ailing when it received TARP money? If not, why not?

 What is the amount of insider loans that have been declared nonperforming or delinquent?

 The deadlines from the consent order have passed. What steps has the bank taken to fulfill the obligations laid out in the consent order?

 According to the consent order, the bank must increase its total capital by about $57 million. How close are you to that goal?

 Was there an MOU between the bank and the FDIC prior to the consent order? If so, when was it signed?

Environmentalists accuse the bank of financing urban sprawl and in the process endangering the Everglades. Do you agree with this assessment? If not, why not?

Do you think the bank’s rise and fall exemplifies the fast-and-loose banking culture that led to the financial crisis? If not, why not?

Do you think U.S. Century was used as a corporate ATM for its directors and their associates and family members? If not, why not?