Clarke's Renomination Is Slated For Senate Consideration - Finally
WASHINGTON - The Senate Banking Committee has scheduled a hearing Sept. 26 to consider Robert L. Clarke's nomination for a second term as Comptroller of the Currency.
The announcement by Banking Committee Chairman Donald W. Riegle, D-Mich., came nine months after President Bush renominated Mr. Clarke.
Fitness Inquiries
Confirmation hearings were delayed while Mr. Riegle's staff conducted intensive investigations into Mr. Clarke's handling of the Bank of New England failure.
Mr. Clarke's fitness also was called into question last May when press reports revealed that he had a loan from a bank that he regulates, engaged in business dealings with an employee, and traded junk bonds while serving as a board member of the Resolution Trust Corp., which held the junk bonds of failed S&Ls.
|Blind Trust' Solution
The controversy over the investments abated when he placed his holdings in a blind trust.
In an Aug. 30 letter, Mr. Riegle reminded Mr. Clarke that "a number of questions have been raised regarding your nomination."
The senator asked the Comptroller to answer five questions - all pertaining to personal finances - before Sept. 26.
