PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- A financial analyst scheduled to talk to lawmakers Thursday about the ramifications of defaulting on the 38 Studios debt works for a firm that has ties to companies involved in that deal.
Matthew Fabian is managing director of Municipal Market Advisors, a company whose client list includes Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp., the state's insurer in the $75-million loan guarantee deal, as well as Charles Schwab, an investment house that is among the 38 Studios bondholders, according to the company's website.
Fabian will be speaking to the House Finance Committee Thursday afternoon. A House spokesman has said Fabian is a respected expert in the so-called "moral obligation" bond arena who "doesn't have a stake" in the 38 Studios issue.
State Rep. Karen MacBeth, D-Cumberland, said she was concerned about Fabian's company's ties. "He can't be neutral if his clients are involved in 38 Studios," she said.
House Finance Committee Chairman Helio Melo, D-East Providence, responded that Assured Guaranty Municipal is one of 300 clients for Fabian's firm, including the federal Securities Exchange Commission, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Pew Foundation.
The firm has been used analysts for major news outlets and testified before the U.S. Senate, he added.
"My thinking was that if it's good enough for Washington D.C., then it's good enough for Rhode Island," Melo said.