Fed Role for King
Kelly King, BB&T Corp.'s new chief executive, has been appointed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond's board of directors.He joined the board Jan. 1, when he also took the helm at the Winston-Salem, N.C., company.
His predecessor at BB&T, John Allison, said he would consider a position at the Federal Reserve Board if the central bank came calling. (He will remain BB&T's chairman until yearend.)
There would be some conditions to accepting such a role, Mr. Allison, who has been a vocal critic of many of the government's recent actions, said in an interview last week. "I would be interested if I really thought I could do something."
He said he would not want to serve as a "token" voice of dissent. However, "if they really want a contrarian, I'd be interested," Mr. Allison said. "I might not be able to change a big organization, but it would be worthwhile if I could influence people's views."
Mr. King was elected to a three-year term on the Richmond Fed's board. He succeeded Hunter Holler, the chairman of Sandy Spring Bancorp Inc.
Back to Stocks
Jeff Davis, a veteran bank analyst, has returned to equity research after a brief stint on the buy side.Last week Mr. Davis joined Howe Barnes Hoefer & Arnett Inc. as its director of research.
In October, he left a similar post at First Horizon National Corp.'s FTN Midwest Securities Corp. to become a principal at Wolf River Capital LLC, a Memphis investment firm formed by a team of FTN veterans to buy trust-preferred securities.
Mr. Davis, who will continue to work out of Nashville, was reluctant to look backward in an interview last week, and he would not discuss his reasons for leaving Wolf River. The firm confirmed his departure but would not comment further.
He said he was looking forward to expanding Howe Barnes' coverage beyond its traditional base of small-cap banking companies.
"This firm has a great franchise with small banks and my intent is to raise their profile with institutional investors," he said.
Daniel Cardenas, who had been Howe Barnes' director of research, will remain with the company as the senior analyst covering banking companies in the Midwest.
Whitworth on Board
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA is keeping a former U.S. executive in the fold.BBVA said Tuesday that Eddie Whitworth has joined the board of Compass Bancshares Inc., the Madrid company's U.S. retail banking unit. Mr. Whitworth was the chairman of Laredo National Bank in Texas when BBVA bought it in 2005. In November, BBVA rolled Laredo National's operations into Compass Bank, which was rebranded BBVA Compass.
