Candidates surfacing for post of SEC chief

By Sandra Sobieraj
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — The New York Police Department's top legal adviser and the official who oversaw cleanup of the 1990 savings and loan fiasco are among the candidates President Bush is considering to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission.

White House officials have approached Stephen Hammerman, deputy commissioner for the NYPD, about possibly taking over as SEC chairman, New York police commissioner Ray Kelly said yesterday. Others reported to be among the dozen or so under White House consideration:

• T. Timothy Ryan Jr., a lawyer and former director of the Office of Thrift Supervision who oversaw the government's multibillion-dollar bailout of the S&L industry.

• Peter Fisher, the Treasury Department's undersecretary for domestic finance, who sits on the board created by Congress to oversee the post-Sept.-11 airline-bailout loan program.

• Robert Glauber, former chairman of the National Association of Securities Dealers, the securities industry's self-regulatory organization.

Their candidacies were first reported by the Wall Street Journal and, in confirming them, administration officials emphasized that they are among as many as a dozen men being seriously considered to replace Harvey Pitt.

Pitt resigned a month ago under pressure for various missteps in handling the past year's accounting scandals that began with the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.

The officials said Bush could settle on a nominee as early as this month. Whoever he picks will have to be confirmed by the Senate.

Hammerman was appointed last February by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to advise the police department on all legal matters, including criminal and civil litigation, and legislative developments.

Hammerman is a former vice chairman at the Merrill Lynch investment-banking firm that did financial work for Enron. He is also a former director of the New York Stock Exchange, and, like Glauber, a former chairman of the National Association of Securities Dealers.

Ryan is a managing director for J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., and a former director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.