Greg Gonzales, the commissioner of the Tennessee Financial Institutions Department, is the new chairman of the Conference of State Bank Supervisors.
Gonzales, a 26-year veteran of the Tennessee department who has served as its commissioner since 2005, was elected at the annual meeting this past week of the CSBS in Savannah, Ga.
In a speech to attendees, Gonzales stressed the importance of preserving community banks, as well as better coordination between federal and state regulators.
"There is no greater goal than the effort to ensure the viability of the community bank model," Gonzales said. "I fear without honest and constructive coordination, the community banks we so heavily rely upon as a nation will fall victim to the recovering economy and to regulatory schemes designed to mitigate risk at our nation's largest and most complex institutions."
Gonzales succeeds Louisiana Commissioner of Financial Institutions John Ducrest as chairman of the CSBS board.
CSBS also announced other officer appointments to the group's executive committee. They include Chairman-elect Charles A. Vice, Kentucky commissioner of financial institutions; Vice Chairman Candace A. Franks, Arkansas state bank commissioner; Secretary David J. Cotney, Massachusetts commissioner of banks; and Treasurer Charles G. Cooper, Texas banking commissioner.
