Wall Selected to Replace Gray as FHLBB Chairman

President Reagan announced Friday that he will nominate M. Danny Wall, Republican staff director of the Senate Banking Committee, to replace Edwin J. Gray as chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

Wall, 47, is believed to have strong support in Congress and within the savings and loan industry and is expected to be confirmed by the Senate.

As chairman, he would take over at a time when the board has been marked by staff upheaval, turmoil within the savings and loan industry, travel expense scandals and complaints about alleged regulatory inconsistency and incompetence.

Gray, whose term expires in June, is a former public relations official and long-time Reagan supporter. He has said he is eager to leave the post, which pays $82,500 a year.

As the change in the chairmanship occurs, the savings and loan industry’s deposit insurance fund is severely depleted. The fund, administered by the Federal Savings & Loan Insurance Corp., insures customer deposits up to $100,000. Among other tasks, the bank board chairman supervises the FSLIC.

Wall was selected over Philip D. Winn, a prominent Republican real estate developer from Colorado who had the support of Sen. William L. Armstrong (R-Colo.).

Wall is a protege of Sen. Jake Garn (R-Utah), who was chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee until the Democratic majority was installed in the Senate in January. Wall clearly was anxious to win the nomination.

“I want to contribute something to an industry that is in a sad state of affairs,” he said several months ago in announcing his ambition for the job. “The industry needs a Mr. Clean who knows his way around D.C.”

Before joining the Senate committee staff, Wall worked as urban renewal director in Fargo, N.D., and served as a legislative aide to Garn. The South Dakota native received a bachelor of science degree from North Dakota State University in 1963.