Finance Panel Didn't Cave - NYTimes.com The report of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission has withstood intense scrutiny and stands as a factual, historical accounting of the causes of the 2008 financial crisis. Unfortunately, William D. Cohan's account (Sunday Review, Sept. 22) of the experience of one person who appeared before the commission did not mention important information. It was the commission that brought Richard M. Bowen III forward to testify under oath about his allegations of wrongdoing in mortgage underwriting by Citigroup. The commission's final report in 2011 prominently featured his allegations. While Mr. Cohan asserts that the commission's staff told Mr. Bowen not to testify about his concerns that Citigroup misrepresented its certifications of internal controls, Mr. Bowen's public testimony included significant information about breakdowns in internal controls at the bank. Contrary to the article's implication that the commission caved to pressure from Citigroup, the commission referred Mr. Bowen's allegations of internal control violations and fraud at Citigroup to the Justice Department for further investigation and, if warranted, prosecution. The writer was chairman of the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, 2009-11.