The head of regulatory policy for JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is leaving the bank to take over one of Wall Street’s largest lobbying groups.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Gregory Baer, who had been serving as JPMorgan Chase’s managing director and head of regulatory policy, is set to assume the role of president of The Clearing House Association.
From Bloomberg:
Baer will join the Clearing House Association Oct. 5 as its new president, the group said in a statement Friday. The Clearing House is best known for providing the legal underpinnings for banking industry challenges to key rules issued by the Federal Reserve, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and other agencies.
According to an announcement from The Clearing House, Baer will lead the Association’s analytical, litigation and advocacy efforts, which focus on promoting sensible regulatory policies that provide for a resilient banking system capable of supporting economic growth.
Again, from Bloomberg:
The lobbying arm, along with an affiliated business that processes payments, is owned by two dozen of the world’s largest lenders, including JPMorgan. The group has spent recent years working on issues arising from the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act and fighting sweeping new capital standards imposed on banks by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision.
The Clearing House’s comment letters to regulators, while often dry and filled with legalese, have helped Wall Street win victories worth billions of dollars. They include persuading the Fed to raise a proposed cap on debit-card swipe fees and helping the industry ease government constraints on derivatives.
“Greg is a seasoned industry executive with deep regulatory policy skills,” said Brian Moynihan, CEO of Bank of America, who also serves as chairman of The Clearing House’s Supervisory Board. “He will be a strong leader for TCH’s policy work.”
Prior to serving as JPMorgan Chase’s managing director and head of regulatory policy, Baer also served as JPM’s general counsel for corporate and regulatory law.
Earlier in his career, Baer served as deputy general counsel for corporate law at Bank of America and was a partner at Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr. Baer also spent more than ten years in public service working at the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
"I'm honored to be leading the Clearing House Association,” Baer said. “In my time as a regulator and policymaker, I looked to this organization as a source of thoughtful and credible analysis of the most difficult regulatory issues, and I will strive to maintain that tradition. I'm also pleased that a great team is in place to help in that effort."
