Washington People: Oops B of A Defends Group Running Anti-Gramm Ads

A Bank of America Corp. press release touting a commitment to make $3 billion in low-cost mortgages mistakenly included a question-and-answer section that riled Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm.

The Community Reinvestment Act can be a win-win for banks and their communities, last week's release from the Charlotte, N.C.-based giant reads. It also defended the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, a nonprofit organization that is running ads criticizing Sen. Gramm's position on the CRA. The organization has enabled us to make loans to low- and moderate-income families that otherwise we could not have reached, B of A said.

After hearing from a Senate Banking staff member, the bank quickly pulled the press release and snipped off the offending section. It was just a glitch in our system, a contrite bank spokeswoman said. That Q&A was prepared for internal purposes.

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S. Kathryn Allen took office Aug. 2 as the District of Columbia's banking commissioner. She succeeded R. Anthony Romero, whose last day was July 30. He joined the Washington, D.C., branch of Amalgamated Bank of New York as first vice president.

Most recently, Ms. Allen was both counsel and a financial consultant in a northern Virginia branch of the brokerage United Securities Alliance. At the same time she worked at an Internet start-up company, ABC Net Corp., as executive vice president and chief operating officer. Before that, she was chief compliance officer of Chevy Chase Bank.

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Barbara Timmer is joining Manatt Phelps & Phillips law firm on Sept. 1 after nine months with Brand Lowell & Ryan, which is disbanding. Ms. Timmer, House Banking Committee general counsel from 1988-92 when two major banking bills were enacted, will help Manatt Phelps' clients navigate legislative, regulatory, and electronic commerce issues.

After Capitol Hill and before entering private law practice, Ms. Timmer was director of legislative and regulatory affairs for ITT and then H.F. Ahmanson & Co., the parent of Home Savings of America in Irwindale, Calif.

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