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1996 Annual Report


Board of Directors
Ricki Helfer

Ms. Helfer became the 16th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation on October 7, 1994, and the first woman ever to head a federal banking agency. Before her appointment by President Clinton, Ms. Helfer was a partner in the Washington office of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, specializing in banking and finance.

Ms. Helfer has held positions in all branches of the federal government. From 1985 to 1992, she was the chief international lawyer for the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Prior to working at the Federal Reserve Board, she served nearly two years as Senior Counsel for international finance at the U.S. Treasury Department. From 1978 to 1979, she was Counsel to the Judiciary Committee of the U.S. Senate. She also clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge John Minor Wisdom.

[Graphic] Board of Directors

FDIC Board of Directors
(seated l-r):
Joseph H. Neely, Ricki Helfer, Andrew C. Hove, Jr.
(standing l-r):
Eugene A. Ludwig and Nicolas P. Retsinas

Born in North Carolina and raised in Tennessee, Ms. Helfer graduated magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University with a B.A. and from the University of North Carolina with an M.A. She graduated with honors from the University of Chicago Law School and served as Associate Editor of the Law Review. Ms. Helfer is a member of the American Law Institute, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the Visiting Committee of the University of Chicago Law School. She is past Chairman of the Committee on International Banking and Finance of the American Bar Association. Ms. Helfer’s various civic activities include serving as a member of the board of directors of the Girl Scouts of the USA.

On March 14, 1997, Chairman Helfer announced her intention to leave the agency on June 1. A successor had not been appointed by that date, and Vice Chairman Hove began a third term as Acting Chairman.

Andrew C. Hove, Jr.

Mr. Hove was appointed to a second term as Vice Chairman of the FDIC in 1994. He served as Acting Chairman from August 1992 until the confirmation of Ricki Helfer as the Chairman in October 1994. Prior to his first appointment as Vice Chairman in 1990, Mr. Hove was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Minden Exchange Bank & Trust Company, Minden, Nebraska, where he served in every department during his 30 years with the bank.

Also involved in local government, Mr. Hove was elected Mayor of Minden from 1974 until 1982 and was Minden’s Treasurer from 1962 until 1974.

Other civic activities included serving as President of the Minden Chamber of Commerce, President of the South Platte United Chambers of Commerce and positions associated with the University of Nebraska. Mr. Hove also was active in the Nebraska Bankers Association and the American Bankers Association.

Mr. Hove earned his B.S. degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He also is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Graduate School of Banking. After serving as a U.S. naval officer and naval aviator from 1956 to 1960, Mr. Hove was in the Nebraska National Guard until 1963.

Joseph H. Neely

Mr. Neely served as Mississippi’s banking commissioner before being sworn in as a member of the FDIC Board on January 29, 1996. His appointment, which followed nomination by President Clinton on July 12, 1995, and Senate confirmation later that year on December 22, brought the Board to its full membership of five directors for the first time since August 1992.

Mr. Neely’s banking experience began in 1977 with the Grenada Sunburst Banking System in Grenada, Mississippi, where he worked in the lending area. In 1980, he continued his community banking service at Merchants National Bank of Vicksburg, Mississippi, where he ultimately served as Senior Vice President before being named Commissioner of the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance for the State of Mississippi in 1992. As Commissioner, Mr. Neely was the primary regulator and supervisor of state-chartered bank and thrift institutions, as well as state-chartered credit unions and consumer finance companies.

Throughout his career, Mr. Neely has been active in community affairs and has held a number of civic leadership positions.

A native of Grenada, Mississippi, Mr. Neely received his B.S. and M.B.A. degrees from the University of Southern Mississippi. He also is a graduate of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking, Rutgers University; The School of Bank Marketing, University of Colorado; and the School of Bank Management and Strategic Planning, University of Georgia. Mr. Neely also served on the faculty of the Mississippi School of Banking.

Eugene A. Ludwig

Mr. Ludwig became the 27th Comptroller of the Currency on April 5, 1993. As the Comptroller, Mr. Ludwig also serves as an FDIC Board member.

Prior to becoming Comptroller, Mr. Ludwig was with the law firm of Covington and Burling in Washington, DC, since 1973, where he specialized in intellectual property law, banking and international trade. He became a partner in 1981.

Mr. Ludwig earned his B.A. magna cum laude from Haverford College in Pennsylvania. He also received a Keasbey scholarship to attend Oxford University, where he earned a B.A. and M.A. Mr. Ludwig holds an LL.B. from Yale University, where he served as Editor of the Yale Law Journal and Chairman of Yale Legislative Services.

Nicolas P. Retsinas

Mr. Retsinas was appointed Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) by President Clinton on October 10,1996, following the resignation of Acting Director Jonathan L. Fiechter. As OTS Director, Mr. Retsinas is also an FDIC Board member.

While with OTS, Mr. Retsinas continues to serve as Assistant Secretary for Housing-Federal Housing Commissioner at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). He was appointed to the HUD post in 1993 following his nomination by President Clinton and confirmation by the Senate. He also serves on the Federal Housing Finance Board, the Board of the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, and the Advisory Board of the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund.

Mr. Retsinas was Executive Director of the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation from 1987 to 1993, and in 1991 also served as Director of Policy for the Governor of Rhode Island. He also was an Adjunct Assistant Professor in Urban Studies at Brown University. Mr. Retsinas received a B.A. in economics from New York University and an M.A. in city planning from Harvard University.

 

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