WASHINGTON–The Financial Services Roundtable, a consortium offinancial services companies, issued a call yesterday for anoptional federal insurance charter and other policy proposalsbefore a meeting between Treasury officials and bankingleaders.

Already, the group noted in its recommendations, the Treasury,Congress and federal financial regulators “have taken extraordinaryactions that, when fully implemented, will help stabilize andrestore financial markets.”

However, the group argued that “additional actions are needednow to strengthen our financial markets to avoid a global economicrecession. In every instance, the regulators and Congress shouldleverage private sector resources to aid the implementation ofthese initiatives.”

The Roundtable listed the OFC as an “intermediate” goal thatshould be adopted by the next congress in 2009. Similar proposalshave been made in the past few Congresses, but have failed to gaintraction due to opposition from some lawmakers, state regulatorsand some groups within the insurance industry.

On a more immediate term, the Roundtable calls for theestablishment of an Office of Insurance Information within theTreasury, which is similar to a bill introduced by Rep. PaulKanjorksi, D-Penn., who chairs a key House Financial ServicesSubcommittee.

The meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was expectedto include Ken Lewis, chief executive officer of Bank of America,Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, Lloyd Blankfein, CEO ofGoldman Sachs Group; John Mack, CEO of Morgan Stanley; VikramPandit, CEO of Citigroup; and Robert P. Kelly, CEO of Bank of NewYork Mellon.

A Treasury spokeswoman said: “Treasury and the Fed are meetingtoday with leading financial market participants to finalizedetails on a financial market stabilization initiative.”