WASHINGTON - As an aide on Capitol Hill for 10 years, Raymond Natter developed what he calls "a pride of authorship" toward banking laws. Now he's putting that pride into action.
Mr. Natter, formerly the top lawyer for Republicans on the Senate Banking Committee, joined the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in January to help implement some of the same laws he helped write.
Right off the bat, the new deputy chief counsel is writing rules to carry out last year's historic interstate branching law.
"My background on having worked on the legislation is coming in handy in terms of being able to provide information on congressional intent and how to read the statute," Mr. Natter said.
As he proceeds, Mr. Natter is sure to play a key behind-the-scenes role in shaping the banking industry of tomorrow.
Last week, he helped prepare testimony delivered by the comptroller, Eugene Ludwig, on dismantling the Glass-Steagall Act. He is likely to help determine what new activities bank operating subsidiaries may engage in under a pending rule. And he is participating in the OCC's project of rewriting its rules to cut red tape for banks.
From the window of his new office, he can see the dome of his old haunts - the U.S. Capitol building. But he is clearly focused on the job ahead. He says he has landed in a "cutting edge" legal department where his work will spark changes.
"The agency is going to be looking at ways to increase competitiveness and bring the banking industry into the 21st century, consistent with safety and soundness," Mr. Natter said.
Mr. Natter, 45, oversees four divisions in the chief counsel's office: legislative and regulatory activities, community and consumer law, international activities, and administrative and internal law. He and the other deputy chief counsel, Bob Serino, report to chief counsel Julie L. Williams.
Mr. Natter, who appears professorial with a slightly graying beard, is said to thrive on details. Indeed, before entering law school, he worked in a laboratory extracting an enzyme from cow blood and measuring its structure.
Mr. Natter first arrived on Capitol Hill in 1977 as a legislative attorney for the Congressional Research Service. After a stint with the Federal Reserve in the mid-1980s, he joined the Senate Banking Committee in 1987, first as special counsel, then as general counsel for Republicans on the panel.
Former colleagues on the Hill give him high marks for fairness and consensus-building.
"He is very bright, level-headed, conscientious, courteous - a creative problem solver," said Rick Carnell, assistant secretary of Treasury for Financial Institutions. He first worked with Mr. Natter at the Federal Reserve Board's general counsel office in the mid-1980s. Mr. Carnell later worked on the opposite side of the aisle from Mr. Natter when both moved to Congressional staffs.
"Someone who can put a solution on the table that takes account of both sides' concerns can contribute enormously to a resolution of differences," Mr. Carnell said.
The OCC's other deputy chief counsel, Mr. Serino, is a 23-year OCC veteran of the agency. He oversees legal departments in the agency's six districts and four divisions: bank activities and structure, litigation, enforcement and compliance and securities and corporate practice.
Mr. Serino and other top OCC officials - including chief of staff Konrad Alt and his new boss, Ms. Williams - knew Mr. Natter when he worked on Capital Hill.
Mr. Natter helped draft the 1989 thrift bailout law - the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act and the 1991 comprehensive banking law, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Improvement Act.
It was a grueling experience, he recalls. Working 12-hour days, seven days each week took him away from his family much of the time. He still remembers one Sunday night when his wife, Adele, brought the children to Capitol Hill so the family could share a meal for the first time in months.
It was an ordeal he said he didn't want to repeat as Sen. D'Amato's top legal hand, with Glass-Steagall hearings and Whitewater on the committee's plate this year. He switched jobs in part to spend more time with his family.
When Mr. Natter first worked on banking matters a decade ago, the two hot issues were the repeal of restrictions on interstate banking and of Glass-Steagall. "Here we are again," he said.
"Whether it is through legislation or regulation or both," Mr. Natter said, he will be pushing along "the changes that make the most sense for a modern financial system."
