Friday is Matthew D. Roberts last day as Eugene A. Ludwig's chief of staff.
Mr. Roberts quit the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to become assistant solicitor general and represent the Justice Department before the Supreme Court.
"This is really a law nerd's dream job," Mr. Roberts said last Friday. "This is a way to get back to the law and do so in a very substantive and serious way. It was an opportunity I couldn't pass up."
After graduating at the top of Harvard Law School's class of 1989, Mr. Roberts clerked for Supreme Court Justice John P. Stevens and for Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who at the time was with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. He joined the OCC in 1993 as Mr. Ludwig's special counsel, and was promoted to chief of staff three years later.
The American Bankers Association promoted Edward L. Yingling last week, making its chief lobbyist the No. 2 staff member behind executive vice president Donald G. Ogilvie.
As deputy executive vice president, Mr. Yingling got a raise and some extra duties including a seat on the boards of the Corporation for American Banking, the association's for-profit subsidiary, and the American Bankers Professional and Fidelity Insurance Co.
Mr. Yingling said he also will fill in for Mr. Ogilvie when needed. "The main thing is that I will serve as a back-up to Don," he said.
ABA president William T. McConnell said the promotion recognizes that Mr. Yingling's responsibilities are "quite a bit above" ABA's six other executive directors.
Mr. McConnell noted, however, that Mr. Yingling is not the heir apparent. "It's not that Yingling's been appointed to take Don's position," he said.
Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez received a generous helping of praise for his 36 years in Congress during a Oct. 7 tribute on the House floor.
Among the those offering kudos was House Banking Committee Chairman Jim Leach, who praised the panel's ranking Democrat for his efforts to resolve the savings and loan crisis.
"His leadership helped to avoid an even larger financial crisis," Rep. Leach said. Rep. Gonzalez, who chaired the Banking Committee from 1989 until 1994, led Congress to "restore the strength and integrity of the deposit insurance system."
Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., said Rep. Gonzalez' "tireless efforts" to "crack open the Federal Reserve" led the central bank to immediately announce monetary policy decisions and to publish minutes of the Monetary Policy Committee.
The Texas Democrat is retiring in December.
Sen. Phil Gramm may not like it, but the White House plans to name Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt to another five- year term, according to Friday's Washington Post.
At a Senate Banking subcommittee hearing last week, Sen. Gramm, R-Tex., accused the SEC chief of playing a "heavy-handed" role in pushing a controversial Financial Accounting Standards Board derivatives rule. Though the lawmaker said he had developed a rapport with Mr. Levitt, "that good relationship is about to come to an end."
An announcement on Mr. Levitt's renomination is expected in the next few months; his term ends June 5, 1998.
Before leaving town for a 10-day recess, the Senate approved the nominations of Dennis Dollar and Yolanda T. Wheat to the National Credit Union Administration board.
Mr. Dollar is president of Gulfport VA Federal Credit Union, and Ms. Wheat has been serving on the NCUA Board since April under a recess appointment.
