Gay H. Evans, a managing director at Bankers Trust International Ltd. in London, was elected chairman of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association last week.
Evans, who succeeds Joseph Bauman of Bank of America, has her work cut out for her. The derivatives industry has been under siege for the past year, grappling with a hostile media and regulators.
Washington will probably be the biggest source of concern for the swaps association this year. On May 18 the General Accounting Office will release a two-year study on derivatives that is expected to be highly critical of the industry. In addition, several bills that would impose additional regulation on derivatives are wending through Congress.
"ISDA and the industry face a challenging year," Evans said in a statement released Friday.
One focus for ISDA in 1994 will be "our educational efforts wit regulators, legislators and our other constituencies around the world. Increasingly, these efforts will involve derivatives end-users," Evans said.
The association's board also said Friday that it elected as vice chairmen Mark C. Brickell, vice president at J.P. Morgan & Co., and Chip Goodrich, managing director at Merrill Lynch & Co.
Steven Benardete, managing director at Morgan Stanley & Co., was elected treasurer and Heinrich Linz, senior manager at Dresdner Bank, was elected secretary.
