Lawyer Moves Closer to No.3 Treasury Post

WASHINGTON - Lawyer John D. Hawke, the administration's apparent choice to become under secretary of Treasury, was to join the department today as senior adviser and consultant to Secretary Robert E. Rubin.

On Tuesday, Mr. Hawke severed his ties to Arnold & Porter, where he was one of this city's best known banking lawyers.

The move into Treasury puts him one step closer to being nominated for the deparment's top domestic policy post.

Mr. Hawke remains the top candidate for that job, despite concerns among a number of antipoverty groups about his work as a bank lawyer.

Nine of those organizations signed a letter to President Clinton a week ago, complaining that Mr. Hawke had once described the Community Reinvestment Act as a form of "government sanctioned blackmail."

In addition, they complained that he had taken "the most extreme position" on Glass-Steagall repeal, endorsing legislation that would permit banks to affiliate with nonfinancial companies.

However, it is the CRA charge that is likely to be most damaging to Mr. Hawke. The administration is sensitive to concerns about fairness in lending, and is likely to take the letter from the community organizations seriously.

Mr. Hawke, in an interview with American Banker last week, expressed confidence that those organizations would drop their objections once he had an opportunity to talk with them.

Mr. Hawke said then that he was impressed that the CRA had generated billions of dollars in loans to low-income communities, a fact that he said was "a testament to the effectiveness of CRA."

While the community groups have blasted Mr. Hawke, bankers have been enthusiastic in their support for his anticipated nomination.

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