Hampton Street Vineyard, the bistro across from the entry to the Marriott Hotel, was the interview venue with the General Counsel of the US Department of the Treasury, Arnold I. Havens. Actually, the interview took place in the wine room in the back.

The appointed hour was two in the afternoon, Monday, February 6. Havens was in town to address the SC Bankers Association. Havens left the bankers happy with their national earnings rate of 17.3 cents for every dollar of sales, an earnings rate higher than pharmaceuticals (16.2 cents) and real estate (10.8 cents), and almost three times oil and natural gas (5.8 cents). The banking system works swimmingly for the banks, their shareholders, and their customers. Havens is on the team to keep it that way.    

Havens was appointed by the President, and he answers directly to Treasury Secretary John Snow, as do the undersecretaries. Treasury has three undersecretaries, one each for international affairs, domestic finance, and the office of terrorism and financial intelligence. Soon after 9/11, the Secret Service moved to the Office of Homeland Security.

General Counsel of the US Department of the Treasury Arnold I. Havens Havens oversees 1,400 lawyers, to include four assistant general counsels and a chief counsel for each office at Treasury. The Treasury offices are composed of divisions headed by assistant secretaries. One assistant secretary was at the Summit Club two weeks ago. The Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce sponsored an address by Emil W. Henry Jr., assistant secretary of the treasury for financial institutions.

Havens’ office is in the Treasury Building at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue. South Carolina architect Robert Mills designed the Treasury headquarters and President Andrew Jackson approved the design for construction. The ground was broken in the summer of 1836, but the building wasn’t finished until 1864, and then by architect Thomas U. Walter. On the west side is the White House, and on the east side is the Washington Hotel and its popular rooftop bar. 

With his team of 1,400 Treasury lawyers, Havens still doesn’t go to trial. Treasury doesn’t litigate. They leave that to the Department of Justice.

The office of terrorism and financial intelligence is a global group. In the war against terror, Havens and his Treasury lawyers work as globetrotting diplomats. To find the bad guys is to follow their money. But while keeping track of worldwide money flows and meeting with their counterparts all over the planet, the Treasury lawyers essentially lubricate the world trade machine. Money both leads and follows trade. 

Havens and the entire US Department of the Treasury were in for a milestone, Thursday, February 9, when the first re–issue of the 30–year bond was set for an auction in the amount of $14 billion, maturing February 15, 2036. In 2001, there appeared to be an annual surplus in the federal budget’s future, so the long bond was seen as unnecessary and was discontinued. Now, as budget deficits abound, the long bond returns. The French recently issued a 50–year bond, a real baguette of a bond.

Havens took off in time for a radio interview with the SC News Network. Treasury is on the Carolinas trail this winter. Treasury Secretary John Snow was in Kannapolis, NC, last week getting excited over the conversion of a textile plant into a $1 billion biotechnology center. Last month, Assistant Treasury Secretary Henry spoke at the Summit Club. This week, Arnold Havens, general counsel, spoke to the SC Bankers Association and sat for The Columbia Star at Hampton Vineyard.