Looking to get fresh blood in its top ranks, the Federal Reserve Board plans to offer early retirement to about 150 senior staffers.
Those whose age plus years of service equal at least 75 are eligible to receive six months' salary in either a lump-sum payment or as an annuity.
The agency wants to free up high-ranking posts for top employees who can have a "fresh impact" on the organization, Fed Vice Chairman Alice M. Rivlin wrote in a May 5 memo.
The Fed declined to disclose the cost of the buyouts, which must be accepted by Aug. 29.
Alan J. Dombrow is ending a 24-year career at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to join CFI Proservices, the Portland, Ore.- based compliance consulting firm.
As a senior manager, Mr. Dombrow starts today as CFI Proservices' liaison with the federal regulatory agencies. He will continue to work in Washington. CFI Proservices provides PC-based banking software to nearly 5,000 financial institutions.
The company said Mr. Dombrow also will advise customers and help develop software involving community reinvestment and mortgage lending compliance.
"It is an honor to have Alan join CFI," said Bob Chamness, president and chief operating officer. "Alan has been a primary, consistent, and positive force in the area of regulatory compliance for over a quarter of a century. He has been a voice of fairness, balance, and reason through the myriad of regulatory initiatives he has touched."
Mr. Dombrow, with license plates that read Reg Z, is widely recognized as an expert on the Truth-in-Lending Act.
Why would a World Bank official need to rub elbows with bankers from Main Street U.S.A.?
Perhaps he is positioning himself for the chairmanship of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
At 6 feet 7, Jonathan L. Fiechter was conspicuous in more ways than one at the Independent Bankers Association of America's congressional reception Tuesday night in the Russell Senate Office Building.
Mr. Fiechter's presence lends credence to reports that the World Bank's director of financial sector development is interested in being nominated to replace FDIC Chairman Ricki Helfer, who leaves June 1. Mr. Fiechter served as acting director of the Office of Thrift Supervision and as a member of the FDIC board from 1992 to 1996.
Anxiety over financial reform appears to be escalating on Capitol Hill.
Last week, Rep. Sue Kelly fretted that lawmakers will be victims of vandalism for choosing sides among warring industry groups.
At a House Banking Committee hearing, the New York Republican warned colleagues they may face reprisals if they dismiss the concerns of America's Community Bankers president Paul A. Schosberg.
"Paul and his wife, Jane, hail from my hometown of Katonah," Rep. Kelly said. "Pay special attention to Paul because he knows where I live.
"If you don't pay attention-and I'm not accusing anyone-I could get my mailbox knocked down."
Sen. Robert Kerry last week criticized the Clinton administration for lifting export restrictions on strong cryptography without requiring storage of decoding keys.
The Nebraska Democrat said he will introduce an export bill that requires some method of key recovery to block terrorists and other criminals from disguising financial transactions over the Internet.
"I don't think anybody would want to have a law that prohibits us from taking action," he said.
Sen. Kerry complained that the White House dropped its insistence on a key storage method only after intense industry lobbying. "We have a number of companies in the United States which have put on pressure to change the administration's policy," he said.
Sen. Kerry said he hasn't "filled in" details of his bill, but predicted that most critics of key recovery requirements will support his plan. "I think it's possible for us to satisfy most of the market players," he said.
Paul L. Sachtleben was named chief financial officer of the FDIC on May 1. Mr. Sachtleben has held the post on an acting basis since last October when William Longbrake resigned to rejoin Washington Mutual Inc.
Mr. Sachtleben will continue as director of the FDIC's finance division, a job he has done since January 1996. Joining the agency in 1969 as an examiner, Mr. Sachtleben spent 18 years in the supervision division rising to deputy director of the Dallas region.
Mr. Sachtleben left the FDIC in 1987 to be a consultant, but in 1990 he joined the Resolution Trust Corp. as CFO. In 1991, he returned to the FDIC as deputy director of resolutions. In 1994, Mr. Sachtleben was appointed director of the agency's new compliance division.
