Ill. Banking Commissioner Quits for LaSalle Post

Illinois Banking Commissioner Richard N. Luft is resigning for a job at Chicago's LaSalle National Corp.

Speculation about his resignation swirled throughout the Illinois banking community this week. In an interview, Mr. Luft confirmed that he plans to join the $15 billion-asset banking company as a senior vice president next month.

"It was a very difficult decision for me," said Mr. Luft, who since May 1993 has run one of the biggest state banking departments, overseeing about 550 state-chartered banks with about $120 billion in assets.

"The employees, all of us, have put together an agency that's really second to none," he said. "When this offer (from LaSalle) was presented to me, I thought it may be time to move on."

LaSalle is expected to announce next week that Mr. Luft will coordinate and market the company's public funds efforts, including trust activities, bond issues, and such operating services as lockboxes and cash letters.

Before becoming state banking commissioner, Mr. Luft, 56, headed two asset management and commodities companies that he still owns, and worked in public finance for the Chicago Corp., an investment banking firm recently bought by La Salle's parent company, ABN Amro. Mr. Luft also served 19 years in the Illinois state legislature.

The state's thrift commissioner, Jack Schaffer, is being talked about as a possible replacement.

"My name is one of the ones under consideration," said Mr. Schaffer. "Obviously I'm interested. The state charter is going to be seriously challenged in the next couple of years."

Such an appointment could lead to a merger of the state's bank and thrift agencies, as has been proposed in the past.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
MORE FROM AMERICAN BANKER