ACB to ABA to …
After three years as the No.2 at the American Bankers Association, Diane Casey-Landry announced last week that she was moving on.
But unlike the last time she switched jobs, this time she is giving herself time to think about a new gig. Casey-Landry said she would work for the trade group until March 31, but has not decided what to do after that.
"I'm actually looking forward to the next step, I just don't know what it is," she said in an interview Friday. "Really, everything is on the table — working in the industry, working in another industry. I don't know what I want to do."
Casey-Landry was in the running for the top job at the ABA, but it named Frank Keating, the former governor of Oklahoma, as its chief executive. Keating officially started Jan. 3. Casey-Landry said it made sense for her to move on so that Keating could select his own management team.
Casey-Landry has been the ABA's second-in-command since 2007, when it merged with America's Community Bankers. Before that she had been chief executive of ACB since 2000. Of her accomplishments at the ABA, Casey-Landry said she is proudest of helping to implement the merger.
"It made us a stronger organization," she said. "It enabled us to work through the crisis we had and gave us more breadth and depth."
The New No. 2
Speaking of the ABA, the group announced Friday that Michael J. Hunter would be Casey-Landry's successor. Hunter will serve as chief operating officer of the group, overseeing its government relations, regulatory, legal and communications activities.
Hunter has previously worked for Keating when he was governor of Oklahoma, serving as the secretary of state. Hunter also served as the executive vice president and chief operating officer of the American Council of Life Insurers when Keating headed the trade group.
Target: Dodd-Frank
Hard-core opponents of the Dodd-Frank Act wasted no time staking out their revolt against it last week. After being sworn into the new Congress Wednesday, Tea Party icon Rep. Michele Bachmann introduced legislation to repeal the law. "I'm pleased to offer a full repeal of the job-killing Dodd-Frank financial regulatory bill," the Minnesota Republican said. "Dodd-Frank grossly expanded the federal government beyond its jurisdictional boundaries."
Bachmann's bill has gained support from a handful of Republicans, the Club for Growth and Americans for Prosperity.
While GOP and Financial Services Committee leaders mostly kept mum on the legislation, the law's architect's leapt to its defense. "Michele Bachmann, the Club for Growth, and others in the right-wing coalition have now made their agenda for the financial sector very clear: they yearn to return to the thrilling days of yesteryear, so the loan arrangers can ride again — untrammeled by any rules restraining irresponsibility, excess, deception, and most of all, infinite leverage," said Rep. Barney Frank, the former chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, in a press release.
OCC Alum Tapped
Jo Ann Barefoot, a former deputy comptroller of the currency, has joined Treliant Risk Advisors LLC as co-chair.
At the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Barefoot built the agency's first consumer compliance department, leading the examination and enforcement process for consumer, civil rights and community reinvestment laws. She was also a former partner and managing director at the global consulting firm KPMG and started her own firm in 2000 providing compliance strategy and risk management consulting.
"Having Jo Ann Barefoot join us in a key leadership position is a transformational event for our organization and will significantly enhance our capabilities in assisting our clients," Treliant CEO Andrew Sandler said.
Promontory Hire
Promontory Financial Group is adding yet another former regulator to its ranks. The consulting firm has hired Erica Bovenzi, a former deputy general counsel Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. general counsel, as a special adviser.
Bovenzi was at the FDIC for 15 years, and before that worked at the Resolution Trust Corp. She also held positions in the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Commerce and the Federal Labor Relations Authority.
