WASHINGTON–The Financial Services Roundtable, a consortium of financial services companies, issued a call yesterday for an optional federal insurance charter and other policy proposals before a meeting between Treasury officials and banking leaders.

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

However, the group argued that “additional actions are needed now to strengthen our financial markets to avoid a global economic recession. In every instance, the regulators and Congress should leverage private sector resources to aid the implementation of these initiatives.”

The Roundtable listed the OFC as an “intermediate” goal that should be adopted by the next congress in 2009. Similar proposals have been made in the past few Congresses, but have failed to gain traction due to opposition from some lawmakers, state regulators and some groups within the insurance industry.

On a more immediate term, the Roundtable calls for the establishment of an Office of Insurance Information within the Treasury, which is similar to a bill introduced by Rep. Paul Kanjorksi, D-Penn., who chairs a key House Financial Services Subcommittee.

The meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson was expected to include Ken Lewis, chief executive officer of Bank of America, Jamie Dimon, CEO of J.P. Morgan Chase, Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs Group; John Mack, CEO of Morgan Stanley; Vikram Pandit, CEO of Citigroup; and Robert P. Kelly, CEO of Bank of New York Mellon.

A Treasury spokeswoman said: “Treasury and the Fed are meeting today with leading financial market participants to finalize details on a financial market stabilization initiative.”

Special Reports /

Influential Financial Services Group Backs OFC

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