Washington People: A Republican from California Gets His Old Job Back

Tom Campbell was sworn in Friday to replace former Rep. Norman Y. Mineta, D-Calif., who retired for a job at Lockheed Martin Corp.

It's a return engagement for Rep. Campbell, who won the seat in a special election last week. The California Republican will reclaim his old spot on the House Banking Committee.

Rep. Campbell, who served two terms in the House, left in 1993 after a failed run for the Senate. During his last term, the PhD economist and Harvard-trained lawyer served on House Banking and was widely regarded as one of the panel's brightest members.

"He was a very strong, constructive presence on the committee, and understands banking extremely well," said Kenneth Guenther, executive vice president of the Independent Bankers Association of America.

At first, Rep. Campbell will be ranked at the bottom of the Republican roster, below Rep. Sue W. Kelly, R-N.Y., However, Rep. Edward Royce, R- Calif., said Rep. Campbell will eventually regain his seniority - making him 11th of 27 on the Republican side.

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On the other side of the aisle, Democrats on House Banking are losing Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md., who is leaving Congress to become head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP.

Whether another Democrat will be brought on board is unclear. However, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., may take over Rep. Mfume's post as ranking Democrat on House Banking's oversight subcommittee.

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David Apgar is leaving the Comptroller of the Currency's Office to become a banking consultant with McKinsey & Co.

Mr. Apgar has been a senior policy adviser to Comptroller Eugene A. Ludwig for the last two and a half years.

"I had planned to work at the OCC for roughly the first half of the Comptroller's term," Mr. Apgar said to explain his exit.

His last day at the agency is Jan. 6. After a move to New York, Mr. Apgar starts work at McKinsey in March.

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What does Edward E. Crutchfield want bank regulators to do?

To be "bell cows" leading banks into uncharted territory, the First Union Corp. chief executive said at a Robert Morris Associates conference in Washington last week.

"We need not just freedom to compete; we need a little encouragement to compete," Mr. Crutchfield said. "The business we knew is dead. If we don't offer alternative products, we are just about irrelevant."

Mr. Crutchfield praised the Comptroller of the Currency and the Federal Reserve for standing up for banks' interests, but said the agencies need to do more to help banks succeed in selling insurance and underwriting securities.

He said he didn't put much stock in the Glass-Steagall reform bill now in Congress, which would tear down some of the walls between commercial banking and the securities business.

"We don't need a whole lot more legislation," he said, suggesting instead that the Fed ease up on so-called Section 20 limits on how much of a bank's revenues can come from securities activities.

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Asked later at the same conference about Mr. Crutchfield's suggestion, Federal Reserve Gov. Susan M. Phillips said that for the moment the Fed would not change its bank securities rules. She added, however, "If Glass- Steagall is not abolished, we'll have to take a look at Section 20 powers."

Ms. Phillips did make one bold pronouncement - albeit, in jest - about the decline of the football program at the University of Iowa, where as vice president for finance and university services from 1987 to 1991 she was responsible for intercollegiate athletics.

"Since I left the University of Iowa they have not done nearly as well in football as when I was there to send some plays in," she said.

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