The polite, collaborative relationship between the top Republican and top Democrat on the House Banking Committee shined through last week as the rest of Congress volleyed typical end-of-session partisan jabs.
Rep. Jim Leach, who is required by Republican term limits to relinquish the committee chairmanship next year, was showered with praise from Democrats during debate Tuesday.
I have been in Congress 26 years. In all that time, I have never had a finer chairman, there is no question about it, with respect to knowledge, dedication, integrity, perseverance, tenacity, Rep. John LaFalce told the Iowa Republican on the House floor. And the world should know it. It has been a pleasure and an honor to serve with him.
Rep. LaFalces comments came after the two shepherded their last bill together one that would relieve bankers of 20 minor regulations they consider burdensome, renew some key banking regulatory agency reports, and create low-cost mortgages for teachers and other municipal workers.
Rep. Ken Bentsen, D-Tex., said Rep. Leach has been both a worthy teacher and supporter and adversary, and has always been very kind to me. His leadership is to be respected.
Oliver Ireland, associate general counsel at the Federal Reserve Board, plans to leave the agency in late November to join the Morrison & Foerster law firms office here. Mr. Ireland worked at the Federal Reserve banks of Boston and Chicago before joining the central bank in 1985.Mr. Ireland currently heads the monetary and reserve bank affairs section of the Fed general counsels office.
The Fed has been a tremendous learning experience, but it seems to me that the retail financial services industry is evolving at a rapid pace, Mr. Ireland said in a interview Thursday. I would like to participate in that evolution actively as a member of the private sector rather than reactively from the standpoint of a central banker or regulator.
Credit Suisse First Boston Corp. has hired Mary Lynne Whalen and Joseph L. Seidel, partners with the law firm Williams & Jensen, to establish a lobbying presence here. The office is scheduled to open Jan. 1. Ms. Whalen was named managing director and chief legislative and regulatory affairs counsel for the New York investment bank, and Mr. Seidel, a former general counsel of the House Banking Committee, was named director and senior legislative and regulatory affairs counsel. Both attorneys currently represent Credit Suisse.
Dina Dublon, chief financial officer of Chase Manhattan Corp. and prospective chief financial officer of a combined J.P. Morgan/Chase, appeared before a droopy-eyed crowd of coffee-slurping bankers on Oct. 23 to deliver the keynote address at a Bank Administration Institute risk management conference in New York.Though her audience may have been wishing the events start time had been pushed back an hour or so, Ms. Dublon made it clear that these days, early-morning speeches are not the toughest thing she has to deal with.
Let me say, she said to open her remarks, having to give an 8 a.m. presentation is a nice break from merging.
