Rolling with Punches
American Bankers Association executive vice president Ed Yingling held his own Tuesday during a "Frontline" feature "Secret History of the Credit Card."
It was probably the most the industry could hope for, and issuers couldn't complain since none of them would agree to be interviewed for the PBS show.
On Wednesday, Mr. Yingling was his usual measured self when asked about his two hours before the cameras and about the piece.
"It's about what people expected … a tough attack on the credit card industry," he told American Banker. "There were some things in it that seemed one-sided; I think that's the best way to put it."
Credit card execs, he said, were grateful he took some heat for them. Mr. Yingling said they told him, "Somebody had to do it and we're glad it was you and not us."
The show and all the interviews are available at www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline.
Need a Lawyer?
Lawyers are everywhere in Washington, spilling from government agencies, congressional staff, and private practice - to the tune of 80,000 in the metro area. But that didn't daunt Washingtonian, which ranks the city's best in its December issue. More than a few of the industry's barristers made the cut.
No. 14 on the roster of the top 30 lawyers over all in Washington was Jamie Gorelick. The former Fannie Mae vice chair, deputy attorney general, and 9/11 Commission member is now at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr. No. 27 was Stanley Sporkin, a former federal judge and a former Securities and Exchange Commission enforcement director. Mr. Sporkin, now at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, has been hired by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight for its investigation of Fannie Mae's accounting practices.
The magazine did a separate ranking of the top practitioners in their fields. That list includes securities lawyer James Doty at Baker Botts, who investigated Freddie Mac's accounting scandal last year.
In the banking and privacy sector, Washingtonian singled out:
Gregory Baer, also of Wilmer Cutler, who was an assistant Treasury secretary in the Clinton administration.
John Dugan, at Covington & Burling, who is widely considered a possible pick for the open Comptroller of the Currency spot and was a Treasury official under President George H.W. Bush.
L. Richard Fisher, at Morrison & Foerster, who is the Washington counsel for Visa.
Oliver Ireland, also at Morrison & Foerster, who was a Federal Reserve System associate general counsel.
David Medine, also at Wilmer Cutler, who was associate director of the Federal Trade Commission's financial practices division.
William Sweet Jr., at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, who is an outside counsel for Citigroup Inc.
And finally, Thomas Vartanian, at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, who was chairman of the American Bar Association's Committee on Cyberspace Law and is a specialist in electronic financial services.
OCC to B&S (&N)
Ray Natter is joining the boutique banking firm of Barnett & Sivon, which is changing its name to Barnett Sivon & Natter.
Mr. Natter just retired as deputy chief counsel at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Before joining the agency in 1995, he worked on Capitol Hill, playing a key role as Senate Banking's chief counsel in the crafting of both the Interstate Banking Act of 1994 and the two S&L laws passed in 1989 and 1991. Mr. Natter has also been a senior lawyer at the Federal Reserve Board.
Mr. Natter, who had been courted by the big firms in town, said he picked B&S because "of its atmosphere, culture … and the fact that it is at the forefront of banking law policy development."
He also liked that the firm was once described as a "Washington think tank on banking law issues."
Mr. Natter is "a lawyer's lawyer," said Jim Sivon. "His experience fits very nicely with our practice."
The firm represents companies like Citigroup Inc. as well as trade groups like the ABA before Congress and the banking agencies.
Mr. Barnett is a former chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and Mr. Sivon is a former minority staff director of the House Banking Committee.
Promontory Hires Three
Promontory Financial Group has hired three new officers: Kathleen M. Hamm, as a managing director in Washington specializing in securities and regulatory and compliance issues; Peter Homes as a principal in its New York office; and Beth Potter, also as a principal in New York.
