Capital Briefs: Top Bank Policy maker Confirmed After Treasury Offers

The Senate confirmed Gary S. Gensler late Wednesday as the Treasury Department's top banking policymaker.

Also confirmed to Treasury posts were Timothy F. Geithner as under secretary for international affairs and Edwin M. Truman as assistant secretary for international affairs.

Their nominations had been stalled since late January when Sen. Strom Thurmond objected to the Treasury's decision to permit winemakers to promote the possible health advantages of drinking wine on bottle labels. Sen. Thurmond withdrew his hold on the nominations because he said Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin has agreed to review the agency's regulations on alcohol labeling and support a prohibition of health claims on alcoholic drink containers.

Mr. Gensler, a former Goldman, Sachs & Co. partner who joined the Treasury two years ago, succeeds John D. Hawke Jr. as under secretary for domestic finance. Mr. Hawke became comptroller of the currency in December under a recess appointment by President Clinton.

The Treasury's peacemaking with Sen. Thurmond clears a potential obstacle for Mr. Hawke's nomination to a full term as comptroller because the South Carolina Republican had threatened to block his nomination, too, if it came to the full Senate.

But Senate Banking Committee Chairman Phil Gramm has delayed hearings on the Hawke nomination. The Texas Republican is still investigating whether Mr. Hawke was involved in recruiting examiners to compile a list of banks that favor the Community Reinvestment Act.

Mr. Hawke has repeatedly apologized, said he stopped the compilation of the list once he learned of it, and adopted a new ethics rule to bar examiners from political communications with national banks.

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