Longtime Texas banking regulator Gaye Griffin died of stomach cancer Tuesday. He was 50.
Mr. Griffin had been with the Texas Department of Banking for 25 years and had been its deputy commissioner since December 1999. He left in 1989 to work as a consultant with Secura Group in Washington, but returned to the state agency in 1991.
Texas Banking Commissioner Randall James said Mr. Griffin "kept his priorities right."
"He put himself into his job, but he remembered that it is all about people," Mr. James told American Banker by e-mail. "To say he will be missed is a great understatement."
Steve Scurlock, executive vice president of the Independent Bankers Association of Texas, started his career as a regulator with the department within a couple of months of Mr. Griffin in 1978.
"Gayle was a darned good regulator - tough when necessary, but always fair and willing to weigh all sides of a situation before coming to a decision," Mr. Scurlock said.
Mr. Griffin is survived by his wife, Karen; daughter, Amanda Leigh Voss; son, Connor Lanier; brother, Gary Griffin; sister, Genell Thorn; a grandchild, and nieces and nephews.
