Seidman Successor Waits Patiently : Banking: William Taylor was tapped as FDIC chief a year ago. But his predecessor is still in the job--and may remain there quite awhile.
Imagine: The CEO taps you to replace an executive planning to retire. The newspapers report your promotion, and all your friends and co-workers congratulate you.
A year passes.
The man you were supposed to replace hasn’t left. And, even though he has turned 70, he shows little sign of doing so.
This is William Taylor’s life.
President Bush told the nation more than a year ago that Taylor, 51, was his choice to succeed Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman L. William Seidman, who was threatening to leave before his term expired in October, 1991.
Taylor is the highly respected chief of the Federal Reserve Board’s division of banking supervision and regulation.
Seidman never made good on the retirement threats. A Reagan appointee, he is still running the FDIC and its sister agency, the Resolution Trust Corp. And he doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon.
Even a serious horse-riding accident that hospitalized Seidman last June did not deter him. Rather than using it as a graceful way to exit, Seidman had the hospital install extra phones and a fax machine so he could run the FDIC from his bed.
“He doesn’t have a short-timer’s attitude,” said a top FDIC staffer. “He hasn’t turned anything off.”
Taylor said in a recent interview that he still wants the job. He declined to talk about his long wait.
One thing is certain: Taylor’s decision has nothing to do with money. Walking into the $115,300 FDIC job would mean a pay cut. Taylor’s salary isn’t public, but it’s safe to assume that he makes close to the top Fed staff salary of $150,000.
The consensus among agency staffers and watchers is that Bush wants Taylor to head the FDIC once Seidman leaves. Treasury Secretary Nicholas F. Brady repeated the Administration’s intention to nominate Taylor during a recent appearance on ABC News’ “This Week with David Brinkley.”
And the President has a reputation for loyalty to the people he selects to play on his team. Witness his recent defense of Vice President Dan Quayle’s qualifications--despite opinion polls that indicate that the electorate thinks otherwise.
Political winds can shift rapidly in the nation’s capital, however. The Fed is under fire for failing to prevent Bank of Commerce and Credit International SA from obtaining illicit control of First American Bankshares’ First American Bank in Washington.
It has not been disclosed whether Taylor had a direct role in the matter.
In the unlikely event that Taylor were not to get the job, it is rumored that Bush would turn to either Office of Thrift Supervision Director Timothy Ryan or Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard C. Breeden.
Their backers say Ryan and Breeden are better equipped to handle the political chores associated with the job.
And massive political battles await the FDIC and RTC. Congress is debating how to recapitalize the bank insurance fund and restructure banking regulation. The RTC’s thrift cleanup machine will need a financial refueling this fall.
People close to the FDIC chairman said that if these matters are still unresolved in October, Seidman will stay on--if the White House asks him to.
It would be a 180-degree shift for the White House if that happens. Last spring, the President’s chief of staff, John H. Sununu, was pressuring Seidman to clear out his desk.
Sununu was angry because the independent FDIC chairman opposed parts of the Administration bank plan being formulated at the time. Since then, though, Sununu has stumbled badly because of problems with his expense accounts.
And the Administration has come to appreciate Seidman’s knack for getting what he wants in Congress. They’re trying to get him to work his magic for them.
“Seidman may be there way past October,” said Bert Ely, an industry consultant in Alexandria, Va. “I don’t think he is in any hurry to leave. For all of his complaints, I think he thoroughly enjoys what he is doing.”
